The Sensation of Flying
by Rusty Clockwork Wings
Summary: HI ! My name is Nora Valkyrie, and this is the story of my time on team JNPR!
1. Chapter 1

My first fan fiction in years. It will get better when I get back into the swing of things. Despite Ren and Nora being close, they are not a couple in this fic.

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY

Chapter 1

HI~~! My name is Nora Valkyrie, and today is my very first day at Beacon! I am **ABSOLUTELY ECSTATIC!** The birds are shining and the sun is chirpi- sorry, on a good day, my thoughts run so fast that it's easy for words to get mixed up. Today is going to be different. Today is going to be an AMAZING DAY! Ren and I are at the school of our dreams. We are going to meet our future teammates, who are going to be SUPER awesome and are going to love us, unlike those smelly brats from back home. We are going to become huntsmen and make a difference. Ren and I are going to kick some serious Grimm butt-

Speaking of whom, I peer over him as he sleeps peacefully in the medium blue sheets of our shared room. His face looks so at peace in his sleep, and I almost envy that. His mind isn't being drawn and quartered by both excitement and nervousness about the future. He is able to _sleep_ so calmly in a bed of his own in this room where the ceiling doesn't leak without worrying about when the shoe is going to not only drop, but fly out the window in a glorious fashion leaving broken glass and chaos in its wake. His dark hair is splayed against the pillow, but always manages to fall into place when he wakes. It would be a crime to wake him, but if we're late we'll seem less awesome.

"WAKE UP LAZY BUTT!" I shout. "It's mo~rning! It's morni~ng! It's morning! I~t's morning!" I sing in glee. Despite being my best and only friend, he the slight frown on his face tells me he is less than pleased with me waking him up, but he can't become a huntsman if he just sleeps in bed all day.

Ren is an Asian male, which was not common back home. He has dark hair and the prettiest violet eyes EVER! He wears white pants and a dark green long-sleeved tailcoat shirt with gold and black trim to preserve the practice of his heritage. As he goes to brush his teeth, I decide that I'm not comfortable with his non-morning person nature and proceed to fill the silence, "I cannot _believe_ we've been at Beacon a full 24 hours! Not that I thought we'd get kicked out or anything. I mean you are the perfect student, and I'm- well, I'm me! But it's just crazy, you know!" I prattle at break neck speeds that, if it were later in the day, Ren would tell me are capable of making most grimm dizzy trying to follow. I know most people would have snapped at me to shut up by now, but I am SO excited and SO nervous that I might explode.

"We've been friends for soooo long, what are the odds we'd still be together?" I ask while combing my hair with my special light pink hairbrush bearing my family symbol, a hammer with a lightning bolt on it. Then I realized what I asked before correcting, "Well not together-together. Not that I'm not saying you're not handsome; you are handsome, but that's just weird, right?" People have been assuming we were together-together since we were kids. Ren means a lot to me, but neither of us sees the other as more than an annoying older sister or silly younger brother. To pair us up together just seems so gross.

Next stop was breakfast. We actually got PANCAKES! It wasn't my birthday, yet there were actual pancakes! ON MY PLATE! "What was I thinking?" I ask, pancake suspended from my mouth. In my excitement over the pancakes, I lost my train of thought. I notice some of my nervousness has made it into his eyes. That cannot happen. I MUST distract him before he goes too far down that dark void his mind visits when too far into thought. "And so, I hope we end up on the same team together!" I speak with my mouth full, though he's used to my quirks. Still, I gulp down the pancake before continuing, pointer finger raised towards the heavens! "ooh! We should come up with some sort of plan! To make sure we end up on the same team together!" I explain my brilliant new idea. "What if we bribe headmaster?" I ask with the first idea that pops into my head before the possibility of expulsion follows. "No, that won't work."

I pondered and pondered as we headed towards our lockers, trying to think of an idea and waiting for Ren's special "make me capable of dealing with these other humans at these unholy hours" tea to kick in. It was gradually coming about. He no longer looks like he is miserable.

"I know! We'll have some kind of signal! Like a distress signal! A super secret signal so we can find each other in the forest! Can you imitate a sloth?" I ask.

"Nora," Ren's calm voice responds to me.

"Yes, Ren," I reply.

"I don't think sloths make a lot of noise," he answers in a calm fashion as he slips his bamboo guns into his sleeves. He has always been the yin to my yang. The black and white kind. Not that blonde girl I saw yesterday with the adorable younger sister. Not the romantic kind either because we are not together-together.

"That's why it's perfect! No one will suspect we're working together!" It may not be the world's greatest plan, but it is my best at this point in time because there is no way I am going to be on a different team. We worked too hard to be able to go to the same school. There was no way we were going to be on different teams.

"Come on, Nora. Let's go," he says as we head out to our destiny while passing that Yang girl and her sister, Ruby.

~x~

After we had wandered around for a good fifteen minutes, we finally found Beacon Cliffs. I am never trusting Ren's directions again. We spent seven minutes of those minutes walking around in circles by this huge oak tree. Anyway, we each chose a platform. My platform was between Ren's and this guy wearing mostly grey's. Something about him looked kind of grumpy. I hope he isn't on my team.

Anyway, the view from the cliff was beautiful. The forest was so lush and green looking. It was full of life and did not need to worry about being strong because it already was. Each tree was at least forty feet tall, some searching 200 feet, yet they all look so tiny from here. The streams looked like the lazy crayon scribbles I did as a toddler, yet sparklier, like no pollution has touched them. I hope I get a chance to explore every inch of that forest. Every tree, every stream, even those far off mountains. I hope one of them is claimable. I'll stick my flag there and call it "Mt Valkyrie." There Ren and I will slay all the Grimm and create our own outpost.

My plans of world domination from my mountain outpost were interrupted by Ozpin. He hooks so cool with those round, tinted glasses. "For years, you have trained to become warriors, and today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest."

Glynda then picked up seamlessly from Ozpin's speech. It was as if these two had known and been working together for longer than most huntsmen. Her blonde ringlets and glasses maintained their disciplined form on her face, despite the slight breeze. "Now, I am sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of teams. Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates. Today."

There was a small sound from Ruby before Ozpin continued. "Your teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So it will be in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well." YEAH! I got this covered! Ren and I work amazingly together! "That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years.

I looked to Ren and beamed, "See, I told you-"

"After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern part of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path. Or you will die." My smile grew bigger and brighter while Ren wore his party-pooper face. The Drama! The Danger! I CAN'T WAIT! "You will be monitored and graded for the duration of the initiation, but our instructors will not intervene. You will find the ruins of an ancient temple containing relics at the end of the path. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. You will guard that item as well as your standing, and we will grade you appropriately. Any questions?"

After that I kind of tuned everyone out as I prepared to launch! When the moment came, there was nothing like it! The sensation of flying makes me feel invincible! "WHEEEEEEEEE!" Muahahahahahaha!

My name is Nora Valkyrie, and today is AMAZING!


	2. What does the sloth say?

Since Nora isn't featured in First Steps Part II, I'm just going to have A little bit of fun with this chapter and show what I think she is doing at this point in time.

Disclaimer: my name still isn't Monty Oum, and I still don't own RWBY.

Chapter 2

Ahhhh! The feel of the wind against my skin after being catapulted off of a 1,000 foot cliff into a forest housing creatures that could potentially kill me. There is nothing like it! The pure adrenaline coursing through my body gives me a thrill that feels _SO GOOD!_ It's like that feeling you get from being struck by lightning, like the sky is emptying its power and might into your body to make you strong. Like the good tingling sensation that gives you the power to protect those around you so you never have to see the people around you hurt again!

Sorry, got a little side tracked. My point is that this doesn't scare m- Wait! Landing strategies! I need one quick! Oh! I know! Quickly, I did a somersault in midair as I positioned my limbs in the appropriate position. I angled both of my legs perpendicular from each other and bent both knees so one was parallel with the ground and the other perpendicular. My fist, where I focused a little of my strength, was extended just a little past my knees and poised to hit the ground. My head tilted downward to the ground, where I focused on the imaginary bullseye where I wanted to land. As I hit the ground, a 10 foot crater formed beneath my fist.

"Nailed it," I muttered quietly for me as I raised my head upwards.

Now, I just need to avoid detection and eye contact until I find Ren. How to accomplish this? Hmmm… I know, I'll travel by tree until I find him. Very few people should be traveling by tree! I make sure my trusty hammer, Magnhild, is securely on my back before leaping up into a tree. Got to find Ren, and I got to avoid the others.

The limb feels strong underneath my foot, like it has been here since long before I was born and will be here long after I am gone. Some of these trees in this forest must have been here for centuries.

A few minutes later, I found a SLOTH! They are _sooo_ cute and epic when they do things in slow motion with their long spaghetti-like limbs. I then take out my scroll and play this epic orchestral music as I wait for him to slowly eat his leaf. Muuuuuuunnnnch. Muuuuuuunnnnch. Muuuuuuunnnnch. Muuuuuuunnnnch. Muuuuuuunnnnch. He then sloooowly looked at me in my radiance. His lips started doing this funny thing, and slowly, slowly, slowly he is doing something… YES, HE IS SMILING! "Brrrrrrrrwah," he said.

So that's what a sloth says. Ren will never believe me, but I captured it in all of its epicness on my scroll! Alright, I need to focus on finding Ren. Suddenly, I heard a young privileged-sounding girl yell, "you may be fast, but you still excel at wasting time!" Yeah, not Ren, so other direction.


	3. Battle of Nevermore

Disclaimer: I have not changed my name to Monty Oum since my last update, nor have I gained ownership of RWBY.

Chapter 3

Where is he? I have to find him before he gets paired up with a bully who thinks Ren should assimilate to their knuckle-dragging, bullying ways and hits him when he says, "no." I can't let that happen to him. This isn't that place. Ren will not be bullied here. We worked too hard to get here, away from that place.

I continue to look for my best friend, Ren Lie. I see that someone has been in this area based on the amount of dead Grimm, particularly an Ursa, or black bear-like Grimm. Those things are not cuddly like the stuffed bears I see children play with in town with their button eyes and adorable faces. They are grumpy and try to wreck and destroy anyone and anything in their paths. And they totally are not cute. I could put it in a skirt and pink ribbon, and it would still look not cute in the slightest. How does it manage that? Even some of the bullies back home look cute if you tie them up and dress them in a skirt and pink ribbon.

Anyway, based on the damage done to the trees, I can conclude that the student that was here was not Ren. Nope, not him.

Suddenly, a feather the size of a surfboard falls from the sky. I know this feather. It is the feather of a Nevermore, a raven-like Grimm about the size of a house with knife-like talons capable of gutting someone with a single swipe. If the feathers hit you hard enough, they could knock you down long enough for the Nevermore to eat you. It is pitch black and wears the white mask-live markings of a Grimm. It has four red eyes that seem to bore into your soul before it makes a hero sandwich out of you.

It tries to fly past me, but I activate Magnhild! "BYE BYE, BIRDIE!" I yell as I take my 5'6" metal and pink war hammer that hid its more long range form, and launch myself into the air for an assault. I then take my strength and in one blow to the skull, render it earth bound. Powerful as the blow may be, it did not kill the beast. Said beast then rose to its feel and proceeded to launch a few of its feathers at me, however, I dodge behind a tree.

I then take Magnhild and charge at the ugly old crow. One quick hit at full power of my swing and some extra propulsion via the grenades within the hammer, and he is dead. Okay, one less Grimm to hurt people. I may have gone overboard for one Grimm, but if that thing made it out of the forest and into an area where civilians lived, people could have been hurt, and I promised myself a decade ago I would prevent that from happening whenever possible.

I heard gunshots from a distance. I know that particular sound anywhere and apart from any other gun in Remnant. It's Ren! And he has encountered an enemy! "I'm coming, Ren!" I cry.

There is no way I am partnering with someone else. Girls try to force me to be something I am not and guys pick on me when they realize I am not "girlfriend" material. Sometimes, people could be so superficial and plastic it surprises me they aren't sold as dolls at toy stores. Besides, someone has to get him out of bed and watch over him, and I haven't finished writing his user manual for partners other than myself. They may not know to remind him not to stay up all night reading or studying. They might let him sleep in and miss class. They might accidentally spill bleach on his coattail shirt and ruin it when it is their turn to do laundry. What if they give him COFFEE in the morning? NOOOOOOOOO! Until I finish the user manual, he will not have a different partner, and that is that!

I dash through the trees at speeds that would make a leopard jealous, but by the time I got there, it was too late! He totally finished off two King Taijitu by himself... Whatever, I still got to take down the Nevermore. I quietly sneaked through the trees behind him as he put his guns away, not in the muscly way!

Remembering the sloth I saw earlier, I did my best imitation, "brrrrwah! Brrrrrrrwah!" I called as he dusted off his sleeves. He turned around to see me hanging upside down from the tree.

A gentle smile appeared on his face as he made eye contact. "I still don't think that's what a sloth sounds like," he chuckled.

I smiled, poked his nose and said, "boop."

Today has been amazing so far. Ren and I are partners and I can only imagine what destiny has in store for us next.


	4. What do you mean we can't teleport?

After three seasons, we know very little about Nora other than that she and Ren have known each other for a long time, they aren't together-together, and they have no family or home. I can pick up some subtle things from the way she interacts, but a lot of her life is up for grabs as to how I want to portray it. From the subtle things I can tell there is more to her than meets the eye. I am going to slowly tease this out as the story progresses.

Disclaimer: the men in the white coats who gave me my awesome white hug jacket keep telling me I am not Monty Oum nor do I own RWBY. I guess they are right.

Chapter 4

Nora and Ren together _again!_ Team Storm Flower is reunited and ready to kick some Grimm tuchus. Now, let's check the mental to do list:

· Land epically (did that)

· Find Ren (he's right here)

· Kick some Grimm butt (did that too)

· Go to the temple thingy in the northern part of the forest

· Collect an ancient relic

· Kick some more Grimm butt

· Get back to the cliffs, silly head

What? I may come off as a certain level of crazy, but I remember things. I had to if I was going to get to Beacon. Besides, I prefer people think of me the way they do. If you seem too smart or responsible, people expect things from you. When people expect things from you, the pressure is so suffocating, especially if they place those expectations too high and say you aren't trying hard enough like _she_ did. Then, it gets bad. It's better to get people to expect nothing from you at all. It hurts less that way.

Okay, Nora, no point in being mopey! Get back on task! "Ren, it looks like we have to go to the temple in the northern part of the forest! We Just have to find north!" I declared.

Ren nodded. He knows I can be somewhat serious when I want to be, yet he has never wanted me to do more than be me. "All right, Nora. I think North is this way," he said walking in a random direction. I chuckled. We are _so_ not relying on his directions today.

"Uhh, Ren, that isn't north," I corrected.

"It isn't?" He asks. Never trust a man with directions.

"No, it isn't whatever direction you choose. May I borrow your pocket watch, please?" I ask politely.

He rolled his eyes at me. "Sure, but it's a watch, not a compass." He then handed me a jade pocket watch with a pink lotus design on its back.

I point the tiny hand at the sun and look for the 12 position. Kay, halfway between that, I imagine a vector, such a cool word, right? Vector! Vector! Vector! I slowly point in that direction before slowly turning 180° from that vector. "That's north!" I cheer. It's about 110° off from where Ren was heading.

Ren just looked at me in amazement, "H-how did you do that?"

I smiled. "I spent about six months wanting to be a pirate when we were eight. I needed to know what direction to sail my ship," I tell him. It really should not surprise him considering he caught me building my own saltwater purification system and studying how to make nets and salt fish at the time.

He chuckled, "How could I forget? I went with you when we stowed away on a ship to Vacuo so you could study ships there and design your own pirate ship. The only reason you didn't hijack one is because none of them liked amazing enough to be our ship and you thought you could design one better." That was an adventure until an adult decided that two eight-year-olds shouldn't be on their own, let alone recruiting other kids into a life of piracy, and had us sent back.

"Alright, let's go this way!" I shout as we head deeper into the forest.

~x~

The woods were so green in the late summer; it was easy to see why this area was called the Emerald Forest. The whole area was singing with life. The asters were in bloom with their cute blue petals. The grass was a jade green and not brown and crunchy. The oaks and poplars were huge in this forest, and don't even get me started on the sporadically placed redwoods.

However, "this is taking too long, we got to get there quicker before all off the good relics are gone," I voice my concerns. What if there aren't enough relics? What if we fail to secure a relic and get kicked out of Beacon?

Ren shakes his head. "Well, considering neither of us has the semblance of teleportation, we're going to have to continue on foot."

Hmm... no. by foot is too slow, and I never finished designing my pirate ship. How can we find a way to travel faster? I know!

"Ren, do you trust me?" I ask. This plan would seem insane to most, but if accomplished right, it would get us there faster and have an interesting story to tell our friends in the future. If done wrong, we'll be too dead to care. However, I need to know Ren is up for another one of my plans.

He sighed. "Nora, in spite of all of the trouble your plans have caused, we almost always make it through with our goals accomplished and nothing worse than a scratch. Even in your craziest plans, you have made sure that I was unharmed. You have always been there for me since we were small. I trust you," he replied.

"Grrrrrrrrrruhh! Grrrrrrrrrrrrruhh!" I let out a groan like call. "Now jump into the trees, Ren."

Ren and I jumped into a poplar tree with its tulip shaped leaves. Soon, a big black Ursa came roaring. It had a white mask with thin red markings. There were several bone like spines sticking out of its back. He's perfect.

"Ren, there's our ride!" I yell as I leap onto it's back, saddling myself between the spines. Ren followed suit. This was going to be fun!


	5. Pieces and players

If anyone isn't used to the English measurement system (basically almost every country that is not the United States), here is a scale conversion

1 mile = 1.60934 kilometers

1 foot= 30.48 centimeters

Okay, here comes the Players and Pieces episode, and we'll be out of the Emerald Forest. Spoilers if you haven't seen the episode.

Disclaimer: I'm not Monty Oum, and I don't own RWBY.

Chapter 5

You know, some things are harder to do than they look. Take escaping handcuffs for example. You can't just stick a small, thin item into the keyhole and jiggle it around to automatically free yourself. Often times, it is a slooooooow process of pulling your hand out of the shackle. You often have to dislocate your thumb in the process, and your hands look chafed afterwards. It may be a slow and painful process, but it is easier than trying to adjust a pin to each individual tumbler in a tiny lock behind your back.

Well, riding on the back of an Ursa is harder than it looks. Svartr may reach speeds of 35 miles per hour, but it is a rough and bumpy ride with no lumbar support! None! Plus, the steering is almost impossible. Unfortunately, I knocked down a few trees because I had to fight to get him to go north. Ren just looked like he was going to lose his breakfast.

I see it! Up ahead, there is this circular stone temple thingy. There was a wall, but it has been mostly torn down. It is probably 100 feet in diameter with what used to be eight 40 foot pillars supporting what used to be a giant stone circle that had seen better days. There were three steps that encompassed the outer part of the whole temple. The floor was interesting. It was solid stone and appeared to have a giant four-pointed compass at its center. The compass was inside a larger circle with four points pointing inwards that would indicate northeast, northwest, southeast, and southwest. Blossoming from that are four pointy leaf thingies. Then, there is the outer ring where 32 separate four foot columns were placed in a semicircle, each bearing… a piece from that game Ren likes to play?

This is our stop! I need to figure out how to get Svartr to stop… I know! I just channel a little electrical energy from my reserves and give him a quick zap! "YEEEEEEEEEEHAAAAH!" I cheer as I tumble off of him. Then, I realized that I put just a little too much energy into that zap. "Awwww! It's broken!" I whine. I didn't mean to zap him that hard… I just wanted him to stop.

Ren slowly climbs off of Svartr while looking like he did when we finally got away from those angry zoo keepers that one time we let Hræzla the tiger free! No one should ever be caged like that, especially when they did nothing wrong in the first place! It's just cruel! "Nora," he pants, "please, don't ever do that again."

By the time he finishes the sentence, I am standing in front of the pillar holding the white rook. What? Ren taught me the names of the pieces a long time ago… I take it and balance it on my head and goof off while pretending it is my crown! I always wanted my own country and loyal army! "I'm queen of the caast~le! I'm queen of the caast~le!" I sing cheerfully!

"Nora!" comes a frustrated cry from Ren.

"Coming, Ren!" I chirp as I salute and catch the rook that falls off of my head and skip towards him.

"Did that girl just ride in on an Ursa?" This chill girl named Blake asked. She was wearing black ribbons around her arms and a very stiff looking and strategically-placed hair bow on her head. Her hair was an inky black, contrasting with her skin, as pale as the moon. Her eyes were this cool yellow color. Not the creepy bad guy yellow, but the kind of yellow that reminded me of a cute kitty I saw once. She wears this cool black and white outfit with a black sleeveless sweater and white undershirt. She is also wearing white pants with these killer black boots that reach her thighs!

"I-" started that Yang girl. She had long blonde hair and light purple eyes that kind of reminded me a bit of Ren's. She wore this cool light brown archaeologist jacket and a yellow crop top which bears the symbol of a burning heart. She wore black short shorts and a half-belt-half-skirt thing around her waist. On her hands and arms were black fingerless gloves and yellow gauntlets.

But before she could process it, there is a screech! A girl with long red hair in a high ponytail comes in running from a death stalker! SOOO COOOL! She wore this cool bronze circlet on her head and a brown leather corset as well as matching bracers on her arms. There is bronze armor protecting her legs There was this bronze necklace thingy around her neck. She looks like a warrior out of a storybook. I can't help but think I've seen her somewhere.

The Grimm's teeth go schnip schnip! Schnip schnip! She dodged the its claws like whoosh! So AWESOME! "Jaune!" she cries out, worried for the one I presume is her partner. If she is already more concerned about her teammate who she probably just met than the fact that she is being chased bu this big scorpion Grimm already earns her my favor.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune calls back, he is dangling upside down in a tree. He is wearing a metal breastplate and shoulder armor as well as leather fingerless gloves. He has fair blonde hair and concerned blue eyes.

"Whoa!" exclaims a girl with silver eyes and short dark hair with red highlights around the tips. She is wearing a black tutu with red tulle and a black corset with red laces as well as a pair of red and black combat boots. Around her waist is a belt with a rose emblem and several rounds of ammunition. Lastly, she finished her outfit off with a scarlet hooded cape. She jumps out of the tree doing a ninja roll landing.

"Ruby!" Yang exclaims cheerfully.

"Yang!" Ruby says happily, preparing to give Yang a hug.

"Nora!" I introduce myself as I positioned myself between the two! I may have startled them a little. What? I thought we were just saying people's names.

"Did she just run all the way here with a death stalker on her tail?" asked Blake, as if it was the most bizarre thing she has ever seen. What's really bizarre is the spelling of the word "bizarre." And "weird" too! Every word that means unusual has a funny spelling to me. Even "funny."

Yang suddenly looked unhappy like Hræzla was when I took him home and gave him a bath. Wait, no! That's not it. She looked... what's the word?

"Grrrrrrrr! I CAN'T TAKE IT ANY MORE! CAN EVERYONE JUST CHILL OUT FOR TWO SECONDS BEFORE SONETHING CRAZY HAPPENS AGAIN?!" She roared, eyes glowing red. Oh yeah, the word was ticked off. Wow! She even erupted into flames! I wonder if she can teach me how to do that? It seems like a faster way to roast marshmallows.

I waited two seconds while she cooled down and Ren got his lazy butt over here.

Ruby then proceeded to tug on her sister's sleeve and point upwards. "ummm... Yang?"

I use my hands to form binoculars and look around. When I looked up, above our heads was this huge Nevermore with a snow white Barbie doll hanging on for dear life to a talon the size of her body. The bird was three times larger than the one I fought earlier. "How could you leave _me_?" Barbie pleaded.

"I said, 'jump,'" Ruby defended.

"She's gonna fall," said Blake rather boredly.

"She'll be fine," rebuked Ruby.

"She's falling," corrected Ren with the same amount of enthusiasm just as the Barbie's tiny hands let go of the talon like a fall from that height is nothing special. To be fair, we were just launched from a similar height earlier today.

Jaune leaped out of a tree to catch her. Respect EARNED! "Just dropping in?" he joked lightly as he grabbed her in midair, his arm under her knees and her arm around his shoulder. For a moment, gravity was broken and they just suspended there. Why do they get to be the lucky ones?

"Oh gosh!" he panics as he realizes what is happening before they wrapped around each other in a manner that reminds me of this guy in a green shirt and his dog in an old cartoon I saw years ago and continued their fall. "Noooooooooooooooooo!" He yelled. He faceplanted into the ground, and she landed on top of him.

"My hero," she said sarcastically. Now that I have a better look at her, she has the palest skin I've ever seen! Her hair is pure white in a high ponytail/single ringlet and pinned up in some kind of tiara-like accessory. Her eyes are a light ice blue with a tiny scar across her left eye. She wore a white jacket with flared sleeves and collar that bore a large snowflake on the back. There was a necklace with a small blue pendent around her neck. She is wearing a white dress that fades to light blue and ends just above her knees. Her wedge-heeled boots match her dress and end halfway up her calves.

"My back," Jaune croaked, sounding like a cute, little froggy!

Pyrrha came sailing forward after being thrown by the Death Stalker.

Yang looked really annoyed. "Great! The gang's all here. Now, we can die together," she stated sarcastically.

"Not if I can help it!" Ruby exclaimed before launching herself at the Death Stalker, firing the sniper rifle within her scythe to propel her faster and hit it. A girl after my own heart! I just want to take her into my arms and hug her and squeeze her! She's just so adorable! "Don't worry! Totally fine!" she cried as she shot at it before a strategic retreat.

Yang grew worried. "Ruby!" she yelled as she ran towards her little sister, wanting to protect her. A giant Nevermore loomed in the air and sent forth its giant feathers with precision that just missed skewering her and instead pinned her cape.

"Ruby, get out of there!" Yang implored. I tried to move towards her to help her, but my body froze! This is a little girl, and I need to save her!

"I'm trying!" she replied, trying to tug her cloak free.

Take the cloak off! I internally plead as I try to get myself out of shock. I glance to see the others are fighting the same internal battle.

"Ruby!" Yang cried as the Death Stalker prepared to strike!

Suddenly, there was a whoosh as something flew past us all. The next thing we know, the Death Stalker is a scorpion-sicle. I need to see if the person who did that can teach me. I bet I can make a fortune selling popsicles so I can buy my own fortress.

"You are _so_ childish," came the voice of the Barbie.

"Weiss?" Ruby questioned once she knew she was safe.

"And dimwitted. And hyperactive. And don't even get me started on your fighting style," Weiss lectured like a meanie. "And I suppose I can be a bit… difficult," she says as if the word were hidden at the bottom of a pit, "but if we're going to do this, we're going to have to do this together. So if _you_ quit trying to show off, I'll be nicer.

Ruby looked and sounded so young when she muttered, "I'm not trying to show off. I want you to know I can do this." She reminds me so much of myself when I was young.

"You're fine" Weiss rolled her eyes.

Yang ran up to Ruby and tearfully told her, "I'm so happy you're okay!" I felt like I was going to cry myself at this moment, but I can't, or at least not right now.

There was a loud groan, and we looked up to see the Nevermore.

"Guys," Jaune panicked. "That thing is circling back. What are we gonna do?" he asked in a terrified manner.

"There's no sense in dilly-dallying," Weiss stated bluntly. But I like dillying, and I love dallying. "our objective is right in front of us."

"She's right. Our mission is to grab an artefact and make it back to the cliffs," Ruby affirmed. Wait. They haven't done that yet? And people say I'm scatterbrained. "There is no point in fighting these things."

"Run and live," Jaun interjected. "that is an idea I can get behind.

Ruby grabbed a white knight shaped like a horse's head and Jaune a white rook that matches our own.

Ren saw that the Death Stalker was about to get loose and alerted us, "time we left."

"Right," agreed Ruby. "Let's go." And just like that, we all started our next adventure back to the cliffs.

~X~

There were two great stone aqueducts, one on each side of the path we ran. Who has all of this in the middle of the forest? Either there was some mystery civilization here a long time ago, or someone went to a lot of trouble for a bath. The Nevermore was still above us and the Death Stalker behind, though we managed ton put a little distance between us. The Nevermore perched itself on this big stone tower and let out a screech like, "I'M HUNGRY! FEED ME, STUPID HUMANS" Or was it "feed me stupid humans" without the comma. Either one will work in this case. Speaking of which, I'm starving. I wonder what they will be serving for dinner? I hope it's pizza! Or chicken!

"Well, that's great," Yang uttered sarcastically. She does that a lot.

Just then, the Death Stalker crashed through the trees. "oh, man. Run!" instructed Jaune before he, Pyrrha, Ruby and Yang tried to make a strategic retreat. I don't like all of this running! I get the point of not picking a fight we can't win until we are older, but we can't run forever. I just want to take it down. What if it follows us back to the school and attacks someone?

Ren must have been having similar thoughts because next thing I heard was "Nora, distract it!"

Distract? No problem. I excel at distractions! All you had to do was ask. I crouch-walk out into the open and dodged several feathers that tried to skewer me like a shishkabob. Nope! Not today. I saw that it was too far to hit with Magnhild's war hammer mode, so I kept her in grenade launcher mode and launched several shots at the birdie. Now, this is exciting! Aww! it flew out of sight. Where did it go? This could be a problem

Just then, the Death Stalker almost got to me, but Ren, being the ninja he is, and Blake saved me with their skills! Then, the pretty Weiss Barbie doll came and we leaped out of the way! Pyrrha and Ren started shooting at the Death Stalker as we tried to take it down while running.

"GO! go! go!" she insisted.

We were running on this big stone bridge to the tower that the Nevermore was previously perched on. Speaking of the birdie, he's back, and he crashed right through the bridge leaving a huge gap between us and land. Ren, Pyrrha and Blake are still on the other side with the Death Stalker!

"Man, we gotta get over there! They need help!" Jaune panicked. He's a great guy; he just hasn't seen battle as much as some. He is terrified, yet he is putting his partner and the others before his fear.

"Let's do this!" I agree.

"yeah, but uh, I can't make that jump," he said, not making excuses. He sincerely does not think he can make the jump. I got an idea that will fix that and his confidence issue.

Leave it to me and magnhild! I once again grab her and put her into war hammer mode. In the process, I purposely knock him down, making sure he fell just the right amount of distance. I then rushed forward and smashed the bridge, catapulting him back to where our partners are.

"Oh wait! No! No! No! No! No!" he shouts as he is unsure my plan will work.

I then grabbed magnhild by the handle and used one of her grenades to propel myself over. The sensation of flying is _soo_ fun! I wonder if it helped Jaune with his confidence? Anyway, I managed to propel myself far enough to hit the death stalker square in the face with my war hammer! It tries to be a jerk and sting me, but it's too slooow! I quickly slide back and... oops! Oh gosh, Blake, are you okay? My clumsiness accidentally knocked her over!

Blake is fine. Phew! She used her weapon as a grappling hook and used it to not only save herself, but also land quite a few hits on birdie's face in a flurry of motion before running down its back, slicing up what she could and jumping back the stone tower with Ruby, Yang, and Weiss.

I used magnhild to propel my way to higher ground and sent a signal via a thumbs up to Ren conveying that I would cover him. He then proceeded to unleash a series of ninja-like kicks onto the Death Stalker as U made sure to send a grenade any time the tail got too close.

Suddenly, there was a huge rumbling sound, and I look behind me to see that the stone structure where Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang were has been reduced to falling rubble, which they are climbing awesomely.

We were now all on the stone bridge when the Death Stalker used its tail to break it to the point where it is about to fall. "We need to move," commanded Jaune. The Death Stalker tries to attack Pyrrha, but she stops it with her shield and her blade. It tries to hurt her with its stinger, but Jaune uses his shield to protect her. Ren rushes towards the action. It tries to sting him, but misses. He grabbed hold and started shooting area between the tail and the stinger as Jaune and Pyrrha attack the face. I aim a few grenades at the claws, and Pyrrha sticks her spear in the eye!

"REN!" I cried worriedly as it flinches and throws Ren off into a pillar. Okay, No more Mrs. Nice Nora! It hurts my best friend; it is going DOWN!

Jaune notices its stinger is limp. "Pyrrha!" he yells.

"Done," she replies as she frisbees her shield to slice off its stinger, which bomps it on the head.

"Nora, Nail it!" he orders.

I look Pyrrha in the eye, and she seems to know what I'm asking. "Heads up!" I warn as Pyrrha sets up to allow me to leap off of her shield. I may have enjoyed my air time a little more than I was supposed to, but I was all business as I descended, letting the momentum build as I did several aerial flips until... POW! I smashed that thing HARD! NEVER TOUCH REN AGAIN! I may have smashed too hard and turned the area of the bridge into another catapult causing us all to go flying back to land, where Ren joined us before collapsing. From there, we watched the others slingshot Ruby, who dragged the Nevermore up a cliff before her scythe decapitated it.

"Wow," Jaune said in amazement. I couldn't agree more. The eight of us are going to go far.

~X~

What I never expected was at the ceremony later that night. Our faces were all on the giant screen. "Jaune Arc. Lie Ren. Pyrrha Nikos. Nora Valkyrie," we were called on stage. "The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as team JNPR," Ozpin declared.

I was so happy! Ren and I were on the same team! And so were Pyrrha and Jaune! We were on the same team as people we could consider friends! I hugged Ren in glee!

"Led by... Jaune Arc," Ozpin continued. Which is awesome! With his plans, we slayed the Death Stalker. With him, we can slay ANYTHING!

Jaune looked a little surprised and nervous at the prospect. "L-led by?" Humbleness is a nice quality, and we have four years to work on his confidence.

"Congratulations, young man," Ozpin acknowledged.

Pyrrha punched Jaune in the arm, and accidentally knocked him over.

And thus starts the legend of team JNPR!


	6. A rough transition part 1

Since Nora had very little screen time in The Badge and the Burden episodes, I will be writing what my version of Nora is going through at this point in time. Nora does not like-like Ren. He is just the one stable part of her life right now, and they are a little codependent. Plus, each individual in JNPR has their own issues. Let's just say it is going to be a rough transition… Also, this is how we earn a T rating. Warning: Angst ahoy!

Disclaimer: I still don't own RWBY.

Chapter 6:

Okay, so now that Team JNPR is formed, we must focus on our next impossibly hard mission: decorating our shared dorm. "I say that we put girls on one side and boys on the other," decided Jaune.

"That's a silly rule. Ren and I are partners, as are Pyrrha and Jaune. We should separate that way," I pouted. Then, for some stupid reason, everyone's face turned pink. Why? I made a good point!

Pyrrha regained her composure first despite being the reddest. "N-Nora, you can't just sleep next to a boy," she explained with a flustered face. She kind of reminded me of a strawberry when she did that. Have I mentioned how much I love strawberries? They taste just as I imagine heaven to taste like.

"Why not?" I asked.

It was Jaune's turn to barely regain composure, "It's just not proper."

I stared at him. "What is so _improper_ about it? WHY CAN'T REN AND I JUST SLEEP TOGETHER?!" I shout. For some reason, everyone's face got even redder than it already was. Ren's face looks so red, it isn't even red anymore. It's almost a purple color. I didn't even know people could turn that color. "Hey! Where is he going?" I ask as he runs out of here like there is a death stalker on his trail.

Jaune was giving Pyrrha this really funny look. "Pyrrha, I think there is one of two things going on. Either she really has no boundaries, or she never had 'the talk,'" he trembled.

"What talk? What does a talk have to do with you guys turning into cherry people?" If possible, the two looked even more uncomfortable. What did I say?

Pyrrha just sighed. "Jaune, just go find Ren. Nora and I need to have a talk, woman to woman. In private."

Jaune just nervously stumbles out of the room, a little clumsier than usual.

Pyrrha takes in a deep breath. "Let's start simple. Nora, what do you know about how the female body is different from the male body?" she asks me as she shifts in her seat. I wonder if she is just having a hard time sitting still.

"Ummm… I know men don't get breasts," I stated. Where was she doing with this?

"Is that all you know?" she asks though she looked a lot less confident than she was on the battlefield. Why? It's just a conversation.

I have to think for a minute. "Men grow beards!" I declare, raising my fist in the air! Why are we talking about this? This is stupid. Ren doesn't even have a beard. Why did he run away?

Pyrrha looks at me worriedly, "well, uh- ummmm- Men and women each have these different parts that help them have babies. Women have an area that allows them to keep the baby inside their bodies while it grows," she explained nervously.

Hmmm… that's weird. I thought they just ate them. "Where is this area?" I ask.

Pyrrha looks soooo red, she almost looks like she is going to ignite into flames. I wonder if Yang taught her that cool trick? "Y-y-you know where you bleed every month?" Pyrrha asked me.

Suddenly, there is a knock on the door. Then, there was a creak as it opened. Lo and behold, Professor Ozpin walked in the door. "Ladies, what is going on?" he asked. There are complaints about shouting, and Ren is running across the quad in pajamas."

I looked at Ozpin putting a polite smile on my face. "Pyrrha won't let me sleep with Ren and keeps asking me these weird questions," I pout. "I know I don't look like a storybook warrior, but I don't get injured in battle enough to bleed every month," I told Pyrrha as calmly as I could.

Even Ozpin looks red and uncomfortable now. He looked up into the ceiling as if hoping the words to say are written there somewhere. "Add coming to investigate this manner to the long list of mistakes made in my life," He muttered. What is so bad about this talk? "Miss Valkyrie, what was your nutritional intake back home?" he asks more calmly than the questions Pyrrha was asking.

"I ate about three meals a day on holidays and two on days I was good," I stated matter-of-factly. Now we are just getting random, and believe me, I know random.

Ozpin looked like Ren did when I got him to eat that lemon to prevent scurvy during our almost pirate adventure in Vacuo. "Miss Nikos, can you please leave the room for a few minutes while I ask Miss Valkyrie a few questions. I promise you can finish your talk later," he requested.

Pyrra then bowed and left me behind. NOOO! Don't go! Please, don't leave me behind with this man. What if he's here to punish me? What if he's worse than- "Please calm down, Miss Valkyrie. I am not going to harm you," insisted Ozpin. "You may sit down on that bed over there," he instructed pointing to one of the four beds, specifically the second one to the left. "I will sit on this one right here. I will not touch you or hurt you. There is no need to be scared of me," he sighed.

Calm down, Nora! He hasn't done anything to hurt you yet! Maybe he doesn't want to hurt you. Plus, he is over there, and he's kind of old. You can totally take him if he goes back on his word… But just to be safe, "can you please place your cane over there by the bookshelf? I promise I won't steal it or anything. I just-"

"Okay, Nora. I trust you," he interrupted as he got up and walked the ten feet needed to place his cane by the small, two tiered bookshelf that Ren is probably going to have to share with the others. He then steadily paced back to the bed. Oooooh. He doesn't even really need to use the cane to walk. What's he hiding? "Nothing that is said between us will make it to the ears of your classmates. I would appreciate if you didn't tell them about my not needing a cane for short distances," he instructed.

I nodded my head,"okie-dokie, artichokie! Now, what did you want to ask me?"

He gazed at me with this grim expression on his face. Uh oh! That is never good! Calm down! He is over there and he put his weapon down. "You said you were fed two meals on days you were good. What about days where you weren't good? How often were they?" He seems calm, but there are other ways to hurt. Maybe I'll be honest.

Breathe in. Breathe out. He is still over there. He is still over there. "About three or maybe four days per week, and at best I had half a bowl of cereal on those days if I made it to breakfast without getting myself into trouble," I said. "I was one of the worst kids. They always told me so on days I was bad, but I'll be good here. I promise. I want to stay at Beacon with Ren," I whimper.

He gazed at me with this mournful look in his eyes, like a puppy died. "Nora, I am not going to kick you out of Beacon because of a noise violation. You may be a bit more colorful than most people know how to deal with, and your methods may be unorthodox, but you remind me of youth in its purest, most resilient form. You remind me of why I started this school," he explained. "Now, please, tell me who these people are who were supposed to be taking care of you?"

I breathe in and out again. "The care takers at the St. Rouge Orphanage."

Ozpin looked like I zapped him. "And these workers, have they ever hit you?"

I sigh. "Every once in a while with a metal ruler, but a lot of that ended when Ren and I started attending Emblem. After that, they started finding ways to punish me that wouldn't leave bruises," I mumble before I realize how sad I sound, "Bu-ut, I left and am never going back!" I cheer myself up! That place is gone and in the past.

Ozpin nodded solemnly. "okay, Miss Valkyrie. If you ever need a listening ear, just talk to me. I will ask Glynda to make sure that my office is always open to you. Speaking of which, I must return to my office and do paperwork." His face looked sincere.

Ozpin then got off the bed, stumbling for a mere moment before catching his balance. He grabbed his cane and left before Pyrrha came back a few minutes later.

Pyrrha had looked less red than before. Her emerald eyes looked far away and lonely. If she went outside in the moonlight, she would look just like the Valkyries in the storybook I used to read. "Nora, I didn't mean to offend you earlier," she whispered. "Most girls wake up bleeding between their legs once a month. I thought you would have started by now. It has nothing to do with your battle skills," she explained.

"Ohhhhhhh! That happens once every three or four months for me. They always said nature was punishing me for being bad again," I explain. So normal people have it once a month? They must be reeaaaally bad. They probably are mean to other people or something.

Pyrrha shook her head. "No. The female body just does that once per month. I guess you're irregular. Sometimes that happens for lots of different reasons. I think Ozpin thought it might be because you aren't eating right. Don't ever think that it's because of something you did. Whoever told you that lied," she explained.

Okaaaaaaay? "All right. What does this have to do with me not being allowed to sleep with Ren? It hardly ever happens, and I'm not going to bleed on him," I mumble. This is useful, but how is this related to the original subject?

Pyrrha looked red again. Why does she keep doing that? What is going on? "I-i-it's not because y-you'd bleed on him, it is because of the fact that p-p-eople often d-do things to have babies in b-b-bed," she expained.

"Huh?" I asked. "How do they do that?" I ask.

~X~

Pyrrha laid down on the bed next to mine since we made peace with the fact that I am going to be sleeping on the girl's side of the room. There was a light tap on the door. Jaune and Ren entered, no longer strawberry humanoids. Ren was wearing a very loose emerald and gold silk pajama set, and Jaune a loose yellow button down and baggy cotton pants. "Hey, Pyrrha. Did you get things straightened out with Nora?" he asked.

Pyrrha nodded. "I think we're good. If there is one thing worse than hearing the talk, it's giving it."

I had a disgusted look on my face. "Gross! Why do people do that? Why did my parents do that? That's it. I have decided. My mom got me from the stork! What else can storks deliver? I wonder if I can train a stork to deliver me pancakes?" I wonder. And for some odd reason, the others are laughing. Is there something on my nose?

Jaune blinked at me when he was done laughing. "Nora, you are seventeen. You have to have the talk at some point in your life," he asserted.

I shake my head violently. "No, I don't. I just have to make sure I never date anyone. EV-ER!" I corrected. I never want to do that gross stuff ever. I don't care how much I love a guy or how much I want kids, that is _not_ for me. "All I need is Magnhild to keep me safe and Ren to stop me from being alone when I'm older, and I'll be just FINE!"

Pyrrha and Jaune looked like I just slapped them. Why? Was it something I said? I know I said I only need Magnhild and Ren, and maybe that hurt them somehow. But we just met! They can't possibly think of me as being a long term friend.

Suddenly, Ren's voice broke through all of my thoughts. "Nora, Pyrrha and Jaune will be our teammates for the next four years. I think they are hoping that we'll be friends beyond that," he explained. Ren has always been better with people than I have, ever since we were kids. Adults always preferred him, and as we got older, so did our peers. However, no matter the circumstance, we have always been part of each other's life, even when it caused others to leave us behind. We've been the only stable parts in each other's life for so long, and I don't know if I want to invest in a long term relationship with anyone else so soon after meeting them if they decide to abandon me next week.

"Beyond that? We don't know that. We don't know we'll be friends in our fourth year! We don't even know what we're eating for breakfast tomorrow. I hope it's pancakes, but it could easily be a hand full of Happy-ohs! I don't want Happy-ohs! They are stale and cold and you can't put syrup on them," I ramble.

Ren sighed. "Nora, give them time. As for right now, maybe it's best we postpone redecorating and get some sleep."

I guess he is right. It has been a long day. "All right. Good night, Ren, and actually sleep. You haven't been given any material to study yet. Good night, Jaune. Good night, Pyr-rha," I yawned. Maybe we'll all be friends; I trust Ren's judgment. However, it is hard to forget about all of the hurt.

~X~

The next morning, I woke to Jaune hovering above me, using his aura to heal several small scratches all over his face. Pyrrha was using hers to heal a hand-shaped bruise on her arm, and they were both looking at me like I was some mad woman. "Did you two try to wake me?" I ask drowsily? "Don't do that again. I really, _really_ didn't mean to hurt you. My body just doesn't like anyone waking it up before the sun is up," I apologize. I got whacked with a metal ruler so many times for that when Ren and I were small. Occasionally, they would try to hit Ren, who was worse than me, but I decided that I was stronger and would take the hit for him.

Speaking of which, I glance over to Ren. He is still sleeping in bed. Nope! "Wake up, SILLY HEAD!" I yell cheerfully as the other two flinch at my volume level. Oh, yeah... most people aren't used to me in the morning. Oh, well! It got the job done, and Ren is awake.

We each quickly get dressed in a whoosh! Before you knew it, I was wearing the school uniform: a red plaid skirt that ended halfway to my knees, a brown vest, white collared shirt, a red ribbon thingy tied around my neck in place of a tie, and a black blazer with yellow piping. My short ginger hair flared up around my neck. My blue-green eyes looked chipper, and I was ready to go! Now as soon as Ren is dressed, we can go get breakfast before class.

Ren took his time combing his hair and making sure that streak in his hair is the right shade of violet before putting his long hair in a low ponytail... and people say girls take a long time to get ready in the morning? Ren is taking foooorrevver just on his hair. Jaune and Pyrrha are already dressed. Pyrrha looks so pretty in her uniform. The red skirt really matches her scarlet hair and brings out the emerald green of her eyes. The leggings are a nice touch. Plus, she's so tall. She looks like a goddess, and I look like a monkey, adorable at times, but not beautiful.

Ren finally finished ironing all of the wrinkles out of his clothes using his aura and proceeded to get dressed. "So, Ren, um so is Nora always this crazy in the morning?" Jaune asked. I flare my nostrils at the question. Nothing good ever followed that question. I knew where this was going. It was going where it always goes, and Jaune was going to turn into a jerk soon. I slapped him across the cheek.

"Nora!" cried Pyrrha. Oh great, now the storybook warrior was upset with me. Now, she is going to judge me and make fun of me. What if she Duck tapes my mouth shut while I'm sleeping? What if she decides to burn all of my clothes and forces me to walk around town wearing nothing but my underwear to buy a new outfit? What if-

"Nora, calm down, please. It will be okay," Ren reassured me, the tranquility in his voice infected my body and caused my panic to cease. However, it scared me. I know he just wants to calm me down, but it feels like he is taking their side or defending them. I know it's stupid, but I can't help it. Ren is now dressed in a white dress shirt, crimson tie, royal blue vest, a black blazer with yellow piping, and black slacks. It's kind of weird seeing him wear something that wasn't green.

Suddenly, we heard Weiss snap open the door to Team RWBY's dorm. We all peered our heads out of the door to see what was going on as the Barbie darted down the hall.

"T-t-to class!" Ruby declared nervously before following, her red cloak breezed behind as Blake and Yang followed her.

"Class?" Jaune spoke nervously. We kind of lost balance and all crashed to the floor. "We're gonna be late!" He squeaked as he dashed towards out of the hall. We all rushed behind him. Oh man, I knew we weren't getting pancakes today!

~X~

Professor Bartholomew Oobleck _really_ should not be given coffee in the morning. He sped through the classroom at speeds that rivaled my train of thought, and I could barely keep up with a word he said because he spoke so fast and my stomach kept reminding me that we skipped breakfast. On the board was a map of all of Remnant. Pinned to that were over a hundred printed news clippings connected by red strings to symbolize a theoretical connection between events. I could barely keep up, and he would just take a sip of his coffee and speed up.

I looked to where Ren was sitting to see him and Pyrrha sitting side by side, both taking notes without seeming worried about losing track of Professor Oobleck's train of thought. All of a sudden, Ren's pen slipped from his hand, and Pyrrha bent down to pick it up. I wanted to cry. She was so pretty and so awesome. I may not be a dummy, but she's probably still smarter than I am. She's probably still mad at me because of this morning. What if Ren ends up liking her better? What if he finally found someone to ditch me for? What if I'm left all alone? What if he decides I'm a freak and leaves me FOREVER?

Suddenly, "Miss Valkyrie, since you are so smart that you evidently don't need to take notes, please tell me about one of the impacts of the early Minstral civilization?" He grilled me. Probably on a point from his whirlwind of a lecture. Oh great, first day of class and I am already in the hot seat. Why couldn't I just stay in bed?

To be continued...


	7. A rough transition part 2

Fictional history ahead. If the show later disproves whatever I say, just remember it's a fan _fiction_. Nora isn't used to friends who aren't Ren, so she is still learning that not all people want to hurt her as well as how to share Ren.

Chapter 7

It was the first day of class, and the professor was already trying to put me in the hot seat. I might as well have my name engraved on it. I was always put in the hot seat at St. Rouge. I swear that the people there looked for reasons to punish me, even if it was something the other kids would get away with. Luckily, I binge studied Mistral put of boredom when I was eleven. "Though the country has now lost its prestige, it was once known for its fishing industry as well as money to be made on gator skins. It is said that the nets of their fishermen could catch 1,000 fish each. Their fishing industry is said to have fed the soldiers in Vale during the Great War, but that is not until later. In the time period you are asking for, they also were the first ones to salt fish to preserve them for the winter. People from all over Remnant would come to Mistral to trade or gain food. Without them, Vale and the rest of Remnant would have fallen into ruins due to inability to sustain its people during the seasons as well as in famine such at the Great Famine of-," I explained. The talk of fish made me even hungrier. My stomach growled loudly.

Oobleck stared at me in shock. "Okay, Miss Valkyrie. You have given a satisfactory answer. Very good. I will let you off with a warning. Tomorrow, eat before you come to class and remember to take good notes," he instructed before continuing the lecture. He appeared to be elaborating on what I just said. Teachers always assume I am stupid because I have a short attention span and am hyperactive. The ones at Emblem would always pick on me during the first few weeks, but I made sure to show myself to be competent enough to get them to leave me alone after the first month while also making sure to not seem to smart outside of papers so as to prevent high expectations. I made sure to balance it well enough that I always made high B's.

I look over to where Ren and Pyrrha are sitting to see her whispering to Ren, and it hurt. The other girls back at St. Rouge would always try to poison him against me so they could have him for a friend without dealing with me. Ren usually ignored them, but he doesn't appear to be doing that with Pyrrha. It's one thing to take him. It will hurt me, but for Ren to turn against me would destroy me.

~X~

In the hallway, I run into Pyrrha and Jaune again. "Do you want to get dinner together with us, Nora?" Pyrrha asks. "I can let you borrow my notes," she offered. No, she is not going to rub in how much smarter she is than I am! She's already trying to steal Ren from me, does she want my few shreds of pride too?

Jaune then took that moment to chime in. "Y-yeah, we can take this as an opportunity to bond together as a team, maybe learn more about each other."

"You mean so you can have dirt on me to make my life miserable when you turn on me next week?" I snap. "Don't think I haven't been through this whole cycle before! You're gonna be nice to me for a couple days while you try to get Ren's friendship, and then you are going to use any information you have to turn the whole school on me later! You'll even try to steal Ren, the one friend I have from me!" I then run down the halls to the cafeteria.

Once in the cafeteria, I sneak int the kitchen area and steal a turkey breast, three loaves of bread, and some a bag of rice. It may sound stupid, but I want to be prepared in case they don't let me eat when I do something bad. I then quietly sneak this back to my dorm while the others. After storing the bread and the rice away in a couple plastic bags and hid them under my bed, I started to wolf down the turkey breast. I eat so irregularly, that this may be all I can eat right now. Ren told me before we arrived that as I begin to eat more frequently, by body will be able to eat bigger quantities. He looked so sad when he explained that, like he blames himself for me not getting as much food as most, and I had to boop his cheek to get him to smile again.

There was a knock on the door. A very prim but firm looking Glynda Goodwitch was standing at the door. I stared at her in shock. Please tell me she isn't going to take my food away! Please tell me that she isn't going to punish me. What if she makes me go for more than a day without food? Who knows what she could do with that riding crop? What if she tries to-

"Miss Valkyrie, calm down. I can literally see the panic forming on your face," the blonde tried to soothe me. "None of the staff here will lay a finger on you. We don't use force on our students. We might lecture you or give you detention, but we will never hit you." she explained calmly. Her face didn't look mean. Please tell me Ozpin didn't tell her. "No, Ozpin did not tell me whatever you told him. I just am good at reading people. Have to be in a job that entails working with teenagers. Now, may I ask why you are absconding food up here?" She asked.

I took a deep breath and exhaled. "I didn't want to eat in the cafeteria. Some days, I'd rather deal with Grimm than students my age. Grimm are honest about their dislike of me. They don't play nice and betray me later. They just growl and attack," I babble.

Glynda stared straight into my eyes. "Nora, I have been doing this job for a long time. I've learned to recognize the kind of cattiness you are describing, and there is none of that in your teammates' eyes," she said.

I grew a little uncomfortable under her gaze. "What if you're wrong? I've made the mistake of trusting people with my friendship before, and only one of them hasn't thrown it back in my face. I don't want to hurt anymore."

"Have you perhaps considered that the others are as lonely and used to being hurt as you are? Only they are hurt in different ways. You said you have one friend who hasn't thrown your friendship back in your face. Perhaps that should prove to you that good friends do exist if you give them the chance, even if it is only a little at a time?" Miss Glynda advised.

"But if I let them in, they might try to take Ren from me and I'll have no one?" I ask.

She looks at me with a gentle smile. "Miss Valkyrie, Ren has been with you through what I presume are some hard times," you can say that again. "If he had any intention of abandoning you, it would have been at the first sign of trouble, not after you two have fought so many wars with yourself and whatever caused you to have the trauma you clearly have. Don't you think you owe it to him to stick by him as he tries to make a friend or two himself?"

I never thought of it that way. I spent so long isolating myself that I forgot that Ren might not want to be a two man island. "Thank you for the advice, Miss Glynda," I smile.

She seems caught off guard. "It's not a problem, Miss Valkyrie. Now I must be off. You may keep the food you have hidden, but next time take less conspicuous amounts," she permits before waving good bye.

Okay, maybe I need to put more effort into trusting these people, even if only a little.

~X~

Pyrrha, Jaune and Ren enter the room quietly. Pyrrha appears to have something in her hand. It's a couple layers of squiggly something covered in white powder. "Nora, are you still hungry?" she asked kindly.

My stomach appears to have downed the turkey breast and whatever that is smells really good, so even if I can only take two or three bites, I nod.

"It's a little late for the cafeteria to have pancakes, but they were celebrating the first day of class with these. Tomorrow, we can all go downstairs and get pancakes together," Pyrrha offered.

Jaune then chose to open his mouth. "I know you have had a hard time in the past making friends, but we'd like to earn the opportunity to be yours. If we get even a quarter of what your friendship with Ren is, we'll be happy."

Ren grabs my hand and squeezes it, indicating that he trusts them both enough to try. I look at them both. "It's not going to happen overnight. If you want my friendship, we're all going to have to work on it. It's going to be little by little for now, and I can't guarantee I'll be perfect, but pancakes is a good place to start," I explain. I wake one bite of the squiggly thing and it is DELICIOUS! This is almost better than pancakes! This is almost worthy to be food of the gods. The only thing missing is maple syrup.

"Nora, you aren't the only one here who has difficulty making friends. For the longest time, I was on top of a pedestal. It may sound great, but it is a lonely place to be. Everyone only wanted to use me to up their status. I began to question how many of the people around me saw me as an accessory and not a friend. It may not be the same type of isolation you experienced, but it was still isolation," Pyrrha confessed. "Whenever people attempt to befriend me, I always have to question their motivations. You, on the other hand, don't seem to care about the pedestal. You may have called me a 'storybook warrior,' but you don't attempt to use me or treat me different from others aside from Ren. I would like to earn your friendship."Pyrrha sounded so lonely, like a cold winter wind. She is used to being in seas of people who see her accomplishments but never her. It's a different type of hurt, but it is still a hurt.

"A-a-and I'm not used to friends either. I was always too awkward and tend to screw things up. I am clumsy and just about average at everything I try," Jaune mumbled. I could understand that feeling very well, or at least the screwing things up part.

"I'm not good at friendship outside of Ren, and I get kind of possessive of Ren's friendship... The past has caused this, but you are not the past! You are the present and could be the future. I'd be happy to give you both a chance. Under two conditions," I negotiated.

Pyrrha and Jaune gave me a quizzical glance. "What are those?" the blonde asked.

I inhale deeply, "First, don't ever try to steal Ren's friendship from me."

Ren then bore into my eyes with a sorrowful, guilty expression. "Nora, I would never abandon our friendship like that, I promise," he swore.

"Ren, I know that. I just want the safety net of knowing they'll never try. You've been by my side for so long that I trust you never to betray me," I explain.

They both bowed their heads in agreement. "We never had any intention of doing that to you. Now what was the second condition?" Pyrrha asked.

"Just remember that I'm new to this and that friends and trust don't come easy to me. I may make mistakes along the way, but I will try," I tell them.

Jaune extended his hand. "All right, I agree to your terms and conditions." I shake his hand in agreement and did the same with Pyrrha.

Ren smiled. "I hope now we can work on becoming a team off the battlefield," he smiles.

Ooooooh YEAH! We are now Team JNPR, a kick butt team that will take this world by storm and I have people who are willing to give me a chance. Watch out, Remnant because here we come!


	8. AN: a poll is up

Don't worry, I am already working on the next chapter, and it will probably be up by Sunday night at the _very latest_. I am not overly fond of chapters that are just ANs, but I am not finished with the current chapter. Anyway, I just wanted you guys to know there is a poll up on my profile asking if Sun should know Nora and Ren from the pirate adventure mentioned a few chapters ago. This will be up until whenever he is introduced. Please vote. My goal is to make a story you guys enjoy as well as give my portrayal of what is probably going on in Nora's head

Love you guys!

Sincerely,

Rusty Clockwork Wings


	9. Jaunedice Part 1

sorry it has taken longer than usual to update. My faith in humanity is crumbling further every time I turn on the TV and see the two potential futures we may be stuck with, and I needed some mental health time or else Cardin would turn orange and part toupee before Nora hits him with Magnhild and sends him all the way to Atlas. Adding a few extra scenes to show JNPR bonding. By the way, I do not recommend Nora's way of helping Jaune over his fears. It will likely not work and result in more trauma.

Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY

chapter 8

It's been a while since I agreed to give Jaune and Pyrrha a chance, and they haven't hurt me yet. They seem to take my hyperactivity in stride and go fetch me pancakes on days either Ren or I sleep in past eight o'clock. Plus, Pyrrha some times goes to train with me! It's strange, but a good kind of strange. Like your first time flying where you think you are going to be afraid of falling, but the exhilaration and adrenaline of it all as well as the breeze brushing your face just feels so GOOD! Ren never appreciated it as much as I do... Speaking of whom, he seems to be enjoying having Pyrrha to talk to and study with.

Anyway, it was a stormy day outside, and Pyrrha and Ren had gone to the library. I can't sit still that long, so I decided to stay behind. Jaune was not happy with the weather. Actually, he seemed to jump every time the thunder ripped through the air. His skin looked about ready to crawl off of him like an icky bug, and his pupils looked like pinpricks. "Jaune, are you okay?" I ask. I know it's a stupid question, but everyone else but I see everyone else ask it when people are scared. Besides, I can't help him if he doesn't talk to me.

He gave me a weird look while letting out a sound of distress. "N-n-nora, I'm okay, really."

He really doesn't sound okay. Our fearless leader is afraid! No! I will not let this happen! He and Pyrrha have been so kind to me, and I want to repay him. This probably isn't my best idea, but it was how I learned to face them, even if I was terrified each time. I wasn't taught to run away; I was taught to face them head on... usually.

"Come with me!" I yell, grabbing him as he lets out this high pitched shriek. As I ran at top speed with only his wrist in hand, he kinda looked like a kite in the way he was dragged without ever touching the ground... except he was screaming and flailing a lot. I won't hurt him; I just want to help him. He needs to not be afraid of a little lightning, or if he is, be able to face it. I surfed down the banister, and his pitch got just a little bit higher. "Jaune, calm down! I won't hurt you!"

Odd, he doesn't seem to hear me. Oh well! I then run out of the dormitory and into the courtyard. "N-n-n-n-NORA! Why are we out here? W-w-w-what if lightning strikes us?" He pleads as the rain hits his skin. It's such a soothing feeling, it always helped me when I was sad at St. Rouge. I don't understand why people are so afraid of getting wet in the rain. It is probably one of the few feelings that can calm my mind down. Just then, a bolt of lightning flashed, and thunder roared!

"Jaune, if I get struck by lightning, I'll be absolutely fine. You won't be hit because I won't let you," I breathed, for once calm.

Jaune's eyes got wide. "Y-y-you've gotta be kidding me, right? How does th-th-th-that work?"

Breathe in. Breath out. "My semblance allows me to safely channel the electricity into my muscles. It won't hurt me. Now, close your eyes," I instruct.

"B-b-but why?" he asked. He really is tense.

I smile. "It's a manner of trusting me."

He did as I requested, but he added, "okay, but your calmness is freaking me out more than the storm."

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning streaked across the sky. One one thousand, two one thousand, I count the seconds. "Feel the rain and wind on your skin, Jaune." Five one thousand. "That is the feeling of the sky's embrace." Seven one thousand. The wind rushed past me like a Grimm. Luckily, Jaune's eyes are closed, or else he'd see up my skirt after that talk thingy, that's a no-no. Eight one thousand. "The rain is trying to calm you. Just allow is and trust me to keep you safe." Eleven one thousand. Twel-

CRASH! There was a rumble of thunder, and Jaune jumped, startled. "SHHHHHHH! It's okay, Jaune. You are safe. the lightning is over two miles away, and if it were closer, I would protect you," I do my best to soothe him.

"How?!" he squeaked. "And I'm su-supposed to be protecting you!" he tried to defend his masculinity. I'm guessing he grew up in the shadow of someone with more _traditional_ views of what a man is supposed to do. Ugh! I'm not a fan of those kind of people.

"Jaune, I don't need you to protect me from the physical. I'm perfectly capable of fighting those battles, and the ones I can't win on my own, I ha-" another bolt of lightning streaks the sky, "ve friends to help me with." Two one thousand.

"But I'm the leader!" he shouts. Three one thousand. Four one thousand.

I giggle a bit at his response, not in a making fun of him kind of way. "Jaune, I spent a long time being my own leader." Six one thousand. "It is a sucky job, but I stopped needing a knight to rescue me." Nine one thousand. "Or at least not from physical harm." Eleven one thousand. "Mental? Well, you saw how bad I was when we first met." This bolt was further away. Fourteen one thousand.

CRASH! Jaune jumped again. "Gah!" he screamed.

"That was just under three miles, Jaune. You're okay." I want to help him. He's been good to me so far, even if he isn't the best at combat.

"Jaune, breathe in, slowly," I requested. He complied. "This is what I do when my issues become too much. Now breathe out and let the tension and fear leave your body."

"Too much? when is this? How come I never see it?" he interrogates. It's like he doesn't believe I could have fear. I know the things that scare most people don't affect me, but still...

I just laugh. "Jaune, anytime I am alone with an adult in the room, I panic and become afraid. I have other triggers, but that is the one that has happened most since I got here. It's like a switch that gets flipped anytime you and all the others aren't around, but an adult is. The pressure just becomes suffocating, and this breathing-" another flash of lightning goes overhead. "-is the only thing that helps."

That strike was further away than the others. Two one thousand. "Keep taking deep breaths, and I'll explain." He nodded. Four one thousand. "Where I was before I came to Beacon was not a nice place." Seven one thousand. "Or at least not to me." Nine one thousand. "I was loud and hyperactive." Eleven one thousand. "And the caretakers quickly decided to dislike me." Fourteen one thousand. "When we were young, they always hit me with a metal ruler," sevente-

CRASH! yet shockingly, he didn't jump this time. He seemed too focused on my story. "Often times, it was on my back or-" another flash of lightning, "-my stomach. That hurt. Often it left bruises or sometimes it cut. It was always after they asked everyone else to leave because they hit me more times and harder than the others. I would often take the blame when Ren did something wrong to protect him because he was so small then. He needed a protector, and I took the role. I guess that is why he acts so Ren-like" CRASH! Still no jump, Keep talking. That was 5 miles away. "now. He decided he needed to be good because I-" the sky lit up again. "got in trouble enough on my own without adding his punishments to it. He always tried to insist he committed his own crimes, but the only time the caretakers believed me was when I said I did something wrong. By the time we left, he only averaged about three incidents per year, usually related to me anyway, and he always patched me up when it cut. Eventually, it progressed to taking away food when I started attending Emblem. It got _really_ bad at one point, and the caretakers got strict-"CRASH! No jump. "-er. I know you don't think you're brave enough to be a leader, but you are. Now, open your eyes."

He looked at me with this sad look, like the world just broke in front of him. "How do you know? I could never be brave enough to do that, let alone still smile like you do."

I use my fingers on his face to force him to smile. "I know because three bolts of lightning struck while I told you, and you didn't flinch once. Don't tell Pyrrha about this. I don't want people to know. Now, come on. Let's go inside," I say.

~x~

It was morning, and I was waking up from this weird but amazing recurring dream I had. The next morning, I wake up to this delicious, sweet smell of vanilla and cinnamon mixing together in harmony and a slight sizzling sound. "What is going on?" I ask. Maybe Pyrrha got some kind of new and awesome perfume... No, that wouldn't explain the sizzling sound! What if a Grimm broke into our dorm and started cooking my teammates? Hmm... Since when do humans taste that good? Still, I Like my teammates too much to eat them. OH NO! "YOU ARE NOT EATING THEM! THEY ARE MINE!" I yell before snapping open my eyes and grabbing Magnhild from the side of the bed... Only to find that there were no Grimm at all, but Jaune in a hot pink apron with black lace standing in front of an electric griddle making PANCAKES! Since when did we have one of those?

Jaune had this panicked look on his face and squeaked, "NORA! If you want some, just ask and put the weapon away!" This is weird, like a dream... am I still dreaming? I then look to see a mountain-sized stack of pancakes! This is so totally awesome, and these smell better than the cafeteria ones! The only problem is that I'm still not used to eating that much, so I just grab the three on top. "So when did we get the griddle?" I ask Jaune.

Jaune looked kind of nervous. "It's a funny story. A-after I got permission from Ozpin, I k-kind of made a deal with W-W-Weiss that if she got a griddle and s-some pancake mix on i-i-immediate delivery, I would give her a week without flirting with her," he stammered. "She was reluctant at first, but she agreed when I upped it to three weeks. I j-just wanted t-to do something nice fo-for you."

Well, he succeeded. This is one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me! It's only this is better than the time that Ren and I snuck out to see the fireworks around the Vytal Festival.

I then proceeded to glomp him tightly to the point where we started turning this really funny color! He was turning into a cherry person again. How does he do that? Why does he do that? And now he is making these weird choking noises. Hmmm...

"Nora!" cried Ren as I just now notice he is awake. "Let him go, or he will be too dead to make pancakes again."

I then decide to release him. Killing him doesn't make a good thank you. I then decide to devour my pancakes. They tasted so good. "Thank you. Ren! There's fresh paaaancakes!" I yell. "Come on, we need the energy to survive Miss Goodwitch's class today. I hear some of us are going to start brawling!"

Ren sighed as he and the other two joined me at the table for breakfast.

~x~

Ughh! I hate this Cardin guy! He reminds me of the people of St Rouge who seem to get some form of sadistic joy from making other kids feel weak or miserable. He freaking stuffed Jaune in a rocket propelled locker and launched him into the Emerald Forest! It took us hours to find him and he just looked so sad when we found him. He pretended to be fine, but I saw the hurt in his eyes. Cardin is just mean!

Jaune looked exhausted and out of breath, but he isn't giving up! He rushes towards Cardin, shield and sword in hand and tries to slice his arm. However, Cardin evades and hits Jaune hard with his mace thingy... hard enough to knock him down. Jaune managed to get up and launch another attack, but Mr. Meanie Face stopped him.

"This is the part where you lose," Cardin quipped as he slowly used his mace to force it forward towards Jaune's shoulder.

"Over my dead-" Jaune tried to retort before Jerk Face kneed him in the stomach. Jaune fell, and I wanted to hurt something. He just looked so defeated...

Cardin was just about to land a finishing blow and bring his mace crashing down, but suddenly a buzzer caught him off guard.

"That's enough," Glynda intervened, coming out of nowhere. "Students, as you can see, Mr. Arc's aura has now dropped into the red. In a tournament style duel, this would indicate that Jaune is no longer fit for battle, and the official may call the match. Mr. Arc, it's been weeks now. Please, refer to your Scroll during combat. Gauging your aura will help you determine when it is appropriate to attack, and when it is better to move to a more... defensive strategy," she addressed firmly. "We wouldn't want you to be gobbled up by a Beowulf, would we?" Sounding like a mom correcting a child for getting to close to the stove.

"Speak for yourself," the jerk known as Cardin Wincester said. I don't particularly know why, but he looked like a whack a mole at this moment, and right as I was about to grab Magnhild, Ren gestured towards Glynda to remind me that this was not the best timing.

"Remember everyone, the Vytal Festival is only a few months away. It won't be long before students from the other kingdoms start arriving in Vale, so keep practicing. Those who choose to compete in the combat tournament will be representing all of Vale," Glynda announced.

Suddenly, the bell rang, and I looked towards Jaune. He just looked so defeated. I just want to hug him better.

~X~

It was lunchtime, and I had a peanut butter and grape jelly sandwich. I live jelly! It is so sweet and squishy! Ohhh... Jaune looks crappier than usual. How do I fix this? What do I do? He looks like a sad puppy someone left out in the rain. Oh! I know! I'll distract him!

"It was the middle of the night..." I start ominously. Yang looked entertained, but Blake was just trapped in her book. Jaune isn't distracted yet...

"It was day," Ren corrected.

"We were surrounded by Ursai..." He's just moving food around with his fork while wearing his mopey face. Come on! Everybody loves a good story.

"They were Beowulves," Ren continued to be a bored party pooper. I know he has heard this story before, but let me tell it.

"DOZENS OF THEM!" I yell in annoyance with Ren and trying to get Jaune's attention. I hop out of my seat, bursting with energy!

"Two of them," Ren interrupts in a bored tone.

"But in the end, they were no matched as Ren and I took them down and made a boatload of Lien selling Ursa skin rugs," I conclude. Oh, come on! That usually entertains people, but he is just so mopey...

Ren sighs, "she's been having this recurring dream for nearly a month now," he explains, missing the point of why I started telling the story and embellishing it. Jaune is just so depressed looking, and I don't like it.

"Jaune, are you okay?" Pyrrha asks. Now why didn't I think of that?

"Oh, yeah. Why?" he asked, sounding dead inside.

"It's just that you seem a little... not okay," explained Ruby anxiously as I stare in concern.

"but guys, seriously... I'm okay. Look!" He nervously tried to explain while puffing his chest unconvincingly and holding his hand to it.

He then turns his gaze across the cafeteria to team CDNL's table. Cardin and his cronies are just har _ass_ ing this poor bunny faunus named Velvet Scarletina. The poor girl didn't ask or choose to be a faunus. Even if she did, having bunny ears that can hear the enemy from miles away sounds like a pro and not a reason to pick on her. He was probably taught this kind of prejudice by someone who learned it from someone misguided enough yo think they were superior or someone who was jealous.

"Jaune, Cardin has been picking on you since the first week of school," Pyrrha says.

"Who? Cardin Winchester? He was just messing around, you know? Practical jokes," He excused pathetically. I know that voice. It is one of someone who is convinced that the people who can help him will side with the abuser.

"He's a bully," Ruby corrected.

"Oh, please! Name one time he's 'bullied' me?" Jaune asks, equal parts to convince himself as us.

He asked for one; Pyrrha gave three... locker incident included.

"I didn't land far from the school," he uttered nervously. LIAR! You landed several miles away in the forest and were lost.

Pyrrha had enough of this, "Jaune, you know that if you ever need help, you can always just ask."

I jump up eager to throw my idea into the ring. "Ooooh, we'll break his legs!" I suggest helpfully.

Jaune stood up, "guys, it's fine. It's not like he's only a jerk to me; he's a jerk to everyone."

"Ow! That hurts!" Velvet's Atlasian accented cry resounded through the cafeteria. That Grimm wearing human skin was pulling her by her ears and laughing at her pain. "Please stop," she asked politely.

He just laughed harder. "See? I told you it was real." He laughed as if it were a joke to him. It was as if he had never seen a faunus before.

"What a freak!" exclaimed mohawk crony as cronies 2 and 3 laughed. I just wanted to toss these idiots into a shark-infested ocean wearing nothing but a meat necklace and coated in pig blood.

Velvet left the cafeteria upset and I just wanted to cuddle her.

"Atrocious," Pyrrha spat. "I can't stand people like him."

"He's not the only one," Blake added.

"Must be hard to be a faunus," concluded Yang.

Ugh! Lunch has gone by and my progress has not been made. Why!?


	10. Jaunedice Part 2

Sorry for the late update. I was on vacation this week with a friend I rarely see anymore. We had a great time, and I made him sit through all three volumes of RWBY. He loved it! However, I get distracted very easily and was surrounded by distractions, so I didn't get very far in my fic there. I wanted to post something, but then- oooooooh, shiny things that distract! Sorry, I was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) predominantly inattentive type since I was little. I haven't been on medication or anything like that in five years, but I have my focus-related issues. If I misuse the plural of an article of clothing, just politely let me know.

I also don't own RWBY or the Sailor Moon theme song (the original one, not the one from Sailor Moon Crystal (I don't own that one either)).

Chapter 9

It was another day in Oobleck's class. He was lecturing on the Faunus Rights Revolution, which was this huge civil rights movement on part of the faunus who wished to be treated as equals by the humans who oppressed them. Sometimes, I think humanity will never learn. We pretend to be so nice, but we treat others we see as inferior or different like crap! It is a twisted tradition that has been passed down for centuries that has hindered our progress, and with our rhetoric we can say it's wrong all day long, but our actions say otherwise.

"Yes, prior to the Faunus Rights Revolution, popularly known as the 'Faunus War,' humankind was quite, _quite_ adamant about centralizing the faunus population to Menagerie," Oobleck explained as he took a sip of his coffee. I have two questions. One: is his semblance producing unlimited coffee from that cup? Two: how is his heart not exploding? He is bouncing around the classroom like the was just injected with quadruple shot espresso. "Now! While this may seem like ancient history to many of you, it is imperative to remember that these are relatively _recent_ events!" He just cannot stand still. Luckily, he is not the only one here who's mind works at lightning fast speeds. I take down notes in my notebook, though mine are a bit more illustrative, such as Faunus Rights Revolution in bubble letters and stick figures ordering other stick figures with animal features to go to Menagerie. Plus, it keeps teachers from developing the unreachable expectations they could have. For a week, Oobleck was weary of my note taking skills, but after our first test, he laid off on the nannying a bit when I placed in the top five students. It may not look like it, butI do know the material I take notes on. The essays also tend to be on topics I covered in my research binges. "Why, the repercussions of the uprising can be felt to this very day!" He exclaimed. The thing about Oobleck is that despite his quirks, he is passionate about what he teaches and its impact when most view it as boring stuff that happened a long time ago. He saw how it impacted society and how unequal our 'equality' is. "Now! Have any of you been subjugated or discriminated because of your Faunus heritage?" He asked.

Slowly, many of the Faunus in the room raised their hands meekly, Velvet included, as if afraid to face discrimination just for raising their hands. Bullies that do this kind of monstrosity out of _superiority_ make me sick! All I can see is monsters who seem to gain pleasure from others' pain.

"Dreadful. Simply dreadful! Remember students, it is precisely _this_ kind of ignorance that breeds violence." The green-haired man lectured while taking a sip of his rocket fue- coffee. "I mean look what happened to the White fang!" Now, there is a touchy subject if ever there was one. What was once a relatively peaceful activist group turned violent; seeing humans as scum and painting there own people as such in the eyes of many. I won't lie: it is hard not to let their acts of terrorism color your perception. I have seen many orphaned by the White Fang, and I have seen many orphaned because of hate crimes in retaliation to the White Fang. I have seen violence on both parts, one in retaliation to discrimination, and the other in prejudice mixed with anger and revenge. Both are horrifying to the point where it is a common practice to sleep with a weapon under your pillow for fear of being snuffed out in your sleep. We are so screwed up, and I don't know how we should fix this.

"The Battle of Fort Castle," Barbie's prim voice broke through my thoughts. I then proceeded to draw a picture of a castle with the subtitle 'Ft. Castle' and a giant three since I know it to have occurred in the third year of the war. Notes, I gotta take notes.

Oobleck grinned, happy to know that a student was familiar with this subject. "Exactly! And who can tell me the advantage the faunus had over General Lagune's forces?" Night vision, I smile to myself before drawing an eye surrounded by stars. Thank you random research binges!

Jaune then was rudely awakened by Cardin, not that he was supposed to be sleeping in class in the first place, but Cardin woke him up during a question that only a handful of students in this classroom would know the answer to for the express purpose of humiliating him. It would be one thing if he had the intention of helping him stay awake, but this is just mean. "Hey!" Jaune cried.

Oobleck looked absolutely giddy. He rushed over to Jaune. "Mr. Arc! Finally contributing to class! This is excellent! Excellent! What is the answer?" He asked with the enthusiasm of a puppy whose owner just arrived home. I wonder if he is planning on drowning Jaune in saliva? That is _so_ adorable!

"Uhhhh... The answer... the advantage... of the faunus..." _Night vision! Night vision! NIGHT VISION! THE ANSWER IS NIGHT VISION, YOU TWAT!_ I chant in my head and try my best to will those exact words to exit his mouth. "...had over that guy's stuff..." Ren looked unamused and mildly exasperated with a look that indicated a yearning for popcorn, and Pyrrha cupped her eyes to indicate the eyes. "uhh binoculars!"

Ren, Pyrrha, and I palmed our faces in unison as the whole class erupted into laughter. Cardin was pounding the desk repeatedly in laughter like there was nothing funnier in the entire universe than Jaune's humiliation. Ugh. People like him make me want to grab Magnhild and play whack-a-mole. I wonder if I can suggest that as a game to Ozpin during the Vytal Festival? I'm sure I can find a few of them to corral up in a small fenced in area and hit with a war hammer... just not Magnhild.

Oobleck doesn't look happy either. "Very funny, Mr Arc. Cardin! Perhaps you would care to share your thoughts on the subject!"

Cardin looks smug. "Well, I know it is a lot easier to train an _animal_ than a soldier." Grrrrrrrrr... Up the explosive ability of the whack-a-mole hammer by 10. And make sure he lands in a pitfall full of spikes.

Oobleck shakes his head in disgust before Pyrrha pipes up. "You're not the most open-minded of individuals, are you, Cardin?" Pyrrha looks as if _she_ wants a pitfall to open beneath him. Also, will Prof Oobleck please do something about Cardin? Anything? I can't stand when people say they don't like prejudice and do nothing about it.

"What? You got a problem?" He replies as if it is completely normal to degrade a race of living creatures to something not human.

Pyrrha calmly responds, "No. I have the answer. It's _night_ _vision_. Many Faunus are known to have nearly perfect sight in the dark." Sometimes a few words can hit harder than a weapon, though weapons are **awesome** too! Especially anything that goes boom or is capable of both long and short range battle or can knock ignorant people unconscious when they need to be neutralized. Though words can be used more diplomatically to correct false assumptions or talk people out of rash decisions. There is a time for each, and Pyrrha recognizes that for this setting, word is the better weapon.

Cardin growls animalistically as if Pyrrha just dumped a pot of boiling water on his head. Hmmm...

Now, it was Blake's turn, her bow looking perfect as usual. How does she do that? No matter what type of ribbon I use, I can never get any ribbon to do that. Maybe it's her semblance, though it would be pretty useless in a fight... maybe she has something holding its shape under it, but what would she hide there... "General Lagune was inexperienced and made the mistake of trying to ambush the Faunus in their sleep. His massive army was outmatched, and the general was captured," she elaborated before facing Cardin. "Perhaps, if he'd paid attention in class, he wouldn't have been remembered as such a failure."

Cardin looked about ready to start a physical altercation right there in the classroom... and Blake would kick his butt all the way to Atlas if needed. Before he could, Oobleck's voice cut him off, "Mr. Winchester, please take your seat." So _now_ you intervene. Jaune was starting to laugh at this when Oobleck teleported in front of him and continued, "you _and_ Mr. Arc can both see me after class for additional readings." He then took another sip from his bottomless cup the size of a shot glass. Weeks into the semester, and I still can't figure out how he does that.

Jaune's shoulders slumped as his face grew more downcast. "Ohhhhhh..." he groaned.

~X~

Okidoki! Got several pages of notes to go over when I need to study with the team. Admittedly, Ren and Pyrrha take more detailed notes, but mine are useful to me, and my mind remembers the entire paragraph Oobleck taught in context with the picture. Jaune, on the other hand... it is so hard not to give him the answers when we review together, but Ren says that doing so will build a dependency on me, which he can't do on a test, as well as get me into the habit of giving him answers in class.

"You go on ahead," Pyrrha instructs Ren and me. "I'll wait for Jaune." Ohhhhh. It's been pretty obvious Pyrrha likes Jaune more than most of the people here. It may not be full blown love _yet,_ but it is developing, and of course, Blondie is oblivious. Oh well... crushes are sticky situations, and I know enough not to meddle with the development of a crush.

~X~

There's Velvet, and she looks so sad over there sitting under that tree like I used to on the days that the caretaker's words got to me. Her face is downcast, and her ears are droopy. What do I do? Before I knew it, I was just inches away from her, and I poked her in the nose. "Boop!" I smile as she looks up at me, a little shaken.

She gently moves my hand away from her face. "Go away... I don't want to talk," she insisted, teary-eyed. So she's one of those types of mopey.

"It's fine. I'm not good with talking about feelings anyway," I say. Okay, think of something to say, anything! You're very good at getting distracted and being a distraction. "Did you know that when there is a song stuck in your head, often times it is because your brain views it as an unfinished task?" I looks at me with the same _WTH?_ expression most people give me when I open my mouth. I then open my mouth and try to think of a song most people would know. Quickly, a set of lyrics start in my head, "Fighting evil by the moon light!" I sing obnoxiously and place my hands on my hips. "Winning love by daylight! Never running from a real fight!" I go purposely off-key, and she starts to laugh a little. I stop mid song and wait.

"She is the one named Sailor Moon!" Velvet continued. I smile. I remember watching it on calm days in my village when I was very small with- No, don't think about _her._ Bad things lie down that road.

"I could count how many channels we received on my left hand when I was very young, and short of the few breaking news broadcasts, that was the only thing that could get my attention back then, and it was broadcast in each of the four kingdoms. It was the most universal song I could think of." I say, focusing on everything else in the memory.

"We had it too," Velvet said. "I wanted to be Sailor Jupiter as a kid. She was strong, athletic, and good at everything she tried. Plus, she was capable of protecting herself and others," Velvet mumbled. "Your friend Pyrrha kind of reminds me of her."

"She was, but she was pretty lonely," I mumble, even if it was for different reasons, remembering Pyrrha's talk of a pedestal. "I don't know who I wanted to be at the time. I just wanted to be strong and able to help those around me," I smile before an idea hit me! "Come on!" I grab her by the wrist.

~X~

After dragging a confused Velvet several miles out of Beacon and into town, we arrived at a small woman's clothing store. It is one of the few stores that tries its best to accommodate every culture. There were sari, hanboks, sarafans, gakti, pagne, fezzes, and even piupius. There was a whole display area for fans emboyered with dragons. They had everything in any color here. I know because Ren and I sneak here once per year to get him new tailcoat shirts. Velvet looked confused as to why I would take her here. "N-Nora, if I wanted to go shopping, I would go with Coco," she excused nervously, her accent sounding adorable, but I was already looking around.

I was on a search and destroy mission. I searched around the sailor fuku in the multi-cultural uniforms department before finding one with a forest green collar and matching miniskirt. I then tracked down a light pink ribbon broach and some forest green boots. It was a bit tricky because I don't know Velvet's shoe size, but I ended up settling for a Woman's size 8. Finally, I went to the accessories department and picked up some white gloves with green on the ends and pink rose earrings.

I then came back to a confused looking Velvet and shoved her into the fitting room. When she came out, she looked like a bunny-eared Sailor Jupiter. "This is amazing, but why did you do this?" She asked looking genuinely confused.

I sigh. "Look. I'm not good at talking to others about feelings. I mean I'm good at talking and can go at it for hours, just not to others who want to listen and not about other's feelings. Sometimes I don't want to talk about my own feelings unless it is the extremes, and I want to push someone away or justify my actions... sometimes both. My point is I am not the best person to talk-talk to, but I still want to help. I chose the Sailor Moon thing because it was the first thing that popped into my head. Plus it is universal. It doesn't matter who you are or what your race is, you grew up watching it, most kids grew up watching it. People need to learn to honor our differences and celebrate our similarities. You may have those bunny ears that make you different, but we have things like Sailor Moon that make us the same." I explain- or ramble...

She looks at me in shock with a tear or two in her eyes. "Thank you. I never thought of it that way." A gentle smile graced her face.

Just as I was about to hand the outfit, minus the earrings I wanted to get for her, to the dressing room attendant, Coco walked over to us and saw the look on Velvet's face before looking to the outfit. "Velvet, do you like that outfit?" she asked.

Velvet blushed a little before nodding.

Coco then snatched it out of my hands before taking it to the cashier and paying for all of it, earrings included. "It's yours, and so is the promise that I will stand up beside you from now on. I may not have said a word before, but that needs to stop," she promises before looking at me from behind her dark-tinted sunglasses. "Thank you for helping my teammate smile. I get the feeling you did more than put together an outfit for her, so thank you."

I nodded before making my way out of the store, letting those two bond. I'm not good at making friends, and if I say much more, I'll probably screw this up. Besides, I have to help Ren and Jaune study tonight.

"She will never turn her back on a friend! She is always there to defend! She is the one on whom we can depend! She is the one called Sailor Moon!"


	11. Forever Fall part 1

Sorry for the wait. I'm not great at writing Jaune's perspective, I had an important meeting, and I wasn't home on some days. Remember: there is a poll on my profile about whether Sun knows Nora from her brief adventure in Vacuo.

Disclaimer:

Chapter 10

Jaune's POV

 **One Week Ago**

Ugh, what a day! I had to spend hours in the library doing an essay on forty pages of material and making sure it is different from my own essay for Cardin. CARDIN! That jerk just keeps blackmailing me into doing his work for him. He pretends to be my "buddy" but even the way he calls me that is just so demeaning. I'm just glad to be back in my own dorm as I place my Scroll down on a nightstand. Home sweet home, and bed sweet be-

Before I can lay down in my bed and envelope myself into the soft comforter, Ren harshly grabs me by the shoulder. I've never seen Ren mad before, but in his eyes is a quiet fury. I've seen this before in a few of my sisters. It is the type of angry that comes with no yelling and an unconventional punishment. "What exactly were you doing with Cardin?" His eyes were terrifying.

I honestly have no clue how to explain this. I can't say that I am being blackmailed. He'll wonder what is bad enough that I'd risk being under Cardin's thumb. "I- uh-" I struggled to find an excuse

His eyes narrowed. "First, you did whatever upset Pyrrha last night and brought dissension into our home, and now you're fraternizing with Cardin Winchester? And you think this is a good idea to come anywhere near Nora, who has more than a few past issues with bullies? Get out of this dorm room," he spat without raising his voice.

Next thing I know, I am bodily shoved out of our dorm without my Scroll, and the door is slammed shut behind me.

 **One week later**

Nora's POV

It was late at night, and Jaune still wasn't back. What if he is lost or was eaten by an Ursa? What if he went to a late night diner that sells pancakes without me? What if he was going to be eaten by an Ursa at a diner and was rescued by a man who whisked him away to some far off universe to battle dragons without us? I was getting a little worried about him, and started jumping on my bed while waiting for my mind to wind down. Bouncy! Bouncy! Bouncy! Boing! Jaune should be home by now. Pyrrha looked hurt and was staring out the window. She's been acting strange around Jaune since the day I came back from that trip with Velvet. Ren was loading Storm flower in preparation for tomorrow on his bed. It may not show on his face, but something is bothering him.

"How come Jaune gets home so late?" I ask innocently with a touch of confusion. Ren always said I remind him of a small child when I do this, and I suppose jumping on my bed isn't helping. Pyrrha and Ren aren't panicking, so whatever it is can't be that bad.

Ren continued playing with Storm Flower as he replied, "he's become rather scarce ever since he started fraternizing with Cardin."

"That's weird. Doesn't he know we have a field trip tomorrow? We need our REST!" I inquire as I make my landing stretched out and body relaxed against the burgundy blanket. This whole Cardin thing is weird. Why would he start talking to Cardin? That guy has been mean to him since day 1. Pyrrha diverts her eyes from the window to me with a motherly look in her eyes. Not the "Get down here this instant!" type of motherly, but the "Oh, dear child, what am I ever going to do with you? Are you okay?" kind of motherly. I don't get it. I was only jumping on the bed.

"I'm sure our leader knows exactly what he's doing," she says an a displeased tone, like a mommy who is mad at a daddy but doesn't want to fight in front of the children. Wait a minute! We've only known each other for a two and a half months. She shouldn't sound like a mommy. She and Jaune didn't do all of that yucky stuff she told me about when we were first assigned a dorm, and there are no children here. That analogy doesn't make any sense. Who does she not want to fight in front of? Whatever.

"I guess so," I reply. I trust Jaune. Even though he started talking to that bully, he hasn't done anything to hurt Ren, Pyrrha, or me. He promised me in private after he got locked out by accident a few times last week that no matter who he is talking to, he will never purposely hurt me like the people in my past have.

Jaune's POV

I peer inside my dorm to see that Pyrrha is still angry and disappointed in me, and Ren still doesn't want me around. Great, just great! You really screwed up this time, Jaune. I've disappointed and worried my own team. A happy greeting of "Hey Jaune!" startles me as I close the white oak door to the dorm. I turn around to see Ruby barefoot, wearing a black tank top with some kind of heart with teeth on it, white pajama bottoms bearing a rose pattern, and a black sleep mask with red eyes. "Long time, no see! Did you lock yourself out again?" she asked.

Oh... since it first became apparent that I was "fraternizing with Cardin," Ren purposely locked me out of the dorm every night to keep me away from Nora and Pyrrha. He thought that they deserved better than to have a leader that had anything to do with Cardin Winchester, and after a few days, I got the message and started exiling myself. He also didn't want to see Pyrrha upset or risk me becoming a bully like Cardin and hurting Nora. He figured he would just lock me out until either the girls were asleep or Ruby would let me in. He was right to do so; neither of the girls deserve that kind of pain. Why couldn't he be the leader? Or Pyrrha? Or even Nora could do a better job than I am. "Oh- uh... nope! Got it!" I pulled out my Scroll, covering for Ren. I'd rather not have Ruby judge him for trying to do what's right for our team.

Ruby didn't seem to suspect anything. "So- uh, where have you been lately?" she asked.

With all that is going on, I decided I needed someone to be honest with. My teammates aren't the most ideal people to talk to right now due to the disappointment in me or just having enough issues of their own without needing me to add to the pile. "I uh- I messed up," I momentarily hung my head in shame. "I messed up, I did something I shouldn't have, and now, Cardin's got me on a leash. Pyrrha won't even talk to me. I'm starting to think coming to this school is a bad idea..." I mumble as I slide my back down the doorpost. "I'm a failure," I admit in defeat. Why couldn't I just be as strong as my father? Or his father? Or any of my line before that? I can't do anything right.

"Nope!" Ruby chirped, interrupting my downward spiral of self-deprecation.

"Nope?" I say confusedly.

"Nope," she repeated. "You're a leader now, Jaune. You're not allowed to be a failure." She explains, making me feel more like crap. I'm not supposed to be a leader. I'm not even supposed to be at Beacon, let alone on this team. Pyrrha is amazing; she doesn't need a leader who will drag her down. Ren and Nora deserve a leader who isn't me. If anything, I will just lead them to disaster.

"But what if I'm a failure at being a leader?" I ask.

"Nope," the girl chirped again.

"You know, you're not the easiest person to talk to about this kind of stuff," I tell her as she sits down next to me.

"Nope!" At least we can agree on that. "Jaune, maybe you were a failure when you were a kid." She started, causing me to slump forward. I know; you don't have to remind me. "You might have even been a failure the first time we met," she continued, causing me to slump even more. "But you can't be one now. You know why?"

"Uhhh because-" I try to answer, but I don't know. I can't even think of an answer to this simple question. How am I ever going to be a huntsman?

Ruby's silver eyes gaze at me with a serious look. How did this happen? She's no older than my youngest sister. "Because it's not just about you anymore. You've got a team now, Jaune. We both do! And if we fail, we'll be bringing them down with us." She rose (no pun intended) and placed her hands on her hips. "We need to put our teammates first and ourselves second. Your team deserves a great leader, Jaune, and I think that can be you." she smiled as she approached her dorm. "Have a good night, Jaune," she says, leaving me all alone, yet kind of inspired.

I need to be the kind of leader my team deserves. Maybe I should start by trying to talk to Pyrrha about Cardin blackmailing me? I need to figure out how to put her, Ren, and Nora first. Pyrrha has only ever tried to help me, but my stupid macho pride got in the way. Ren and Nora are still learning to trust outside of their tiny circle for longer than a day. What I'm doing now is just showing them how two-faced people can be. I need to make things right by all three of them.

Just as I was about to turn the knob, there is a shrill beep of my Scroll. Cardin's voice appeared in my messaging system. "Hey! It's your buddy Cardin!" his stupid voice says. Ugh... not like that many other people call me anymore. "I know you're probably busy with that Dust project I gave you," you mean the 10 page paper on the mechanics of mining Dust? And you have more work for me? "Buuuut I'm gonna need you to go out and get me a bag of Rapier Wasps." Rapier wasps? What the hell could he want rapier wasps for? "And make sure they've got some really big stingers! It's important, so don't screw this up!"

I close my scroll just when it begins to beep again. Sighing in defeat, I head away from my dorm and towards my painful task. Now where can I get something to put these stupid things in.

~x~

Nora's POV

YAAAAY! We are on this totally amazing field trip to the Forest of Forever Fall! Everything is so beautiful! The trees are so beautiful! Each leaf is this gorgeous shade of rose red that when it falls to the ground reminds me of a rose petal! The trunk of each tree is this rich brown that reminds me of chocolate. I wonder what they taste like? I hope they are sweet and chocolaty like they look! I am so excited, I am practically floating- oh wait! I am literally floating inches above the ground! Ren gives me a glance, telling me to get my feet back on the ground before someone notices.

Glynda appears oblivious to my violation of the laws of physics. "Yes, students, the forest of Forever Fall is indeed beautiful. But we are not here to sight-see, Professor Peach has asked all of you to collect samples from the trees deep inside this forest," Uhhhhh... who is Professor Peach? Is she one of those shadow people thingies I see everywhere at school and around Vale? Also, why are we doing this when she has her own class of students to do her bidding? "and I'm here to make sure none of you die while doing so," she sternly informs us. Please, we'll be fine.

Suddenly there is a jingly crash of a bunch of glass vessels. I look behind me to see Jaune carrying a big, metal case and about six jars on top of it. Is he really still doing errands for that bully? I don't understand why. Especially when the jerk glares at him for a simple mistake before Jaune starts whistling to feign innocence.

"Each of you is to gather one jar's worth of red sap." she indicates while pulling out a jar of sap. Wait! Sap as in SYRUP! "However, this forest is full of the creatures of Grimm, so be sure to stay by your teammates. We will rendezvous back here by 4 o'clock. Have fun!" Will do! No Grimm is getting in the way of my syrup! I will take a Beowulf down with my bare hands for some of the sweet, sweet elixir of the gods. Or food, but Ozpin and the others promised that I would not be punished that way here.

Let's go find the sweetest, sappiest tree in the forest and bleed it dry of all its syrupy goodness!

~x~

Jaune's POV

Pyrrha looked so disappointed in me. Her fiery red ponytail blowing in the slight breeze as her shamrock green eyes just had this sad look in them. It's all I could think about while I obtained the sap from the spile I jabbed into the tree. Why couldn't I be strong enough to get into Beacon the proper way? Why couldn't I just cut my losses and tell Ozpin and my team the truth? It would be easier than serving Cardin, and I wouldn't be crushed by my guilt right now. I'm starting to feel sick to my stomach. To make it more fun, I feel the congestion build in my sinuses. Ugh! I think I feel dizzy.

I take all six jars to the lazy bums in team CDNL who had the nerve to sit back and relax while I did all of _their_ work. Why can't they give me a hand? Why is the forrest spinning? Why are these jars are heavier than they look? I try to gently place the jars on the ground but end up dropping them all before collapsing.

"Hey, great work, Jauney boy!" Cardin's voice emerged from the swirling void. I'm kind of wishing it had swallowed me whole. "Now that wasn't too hard, was it?" He mocked.

"I think I'm allergic to this stuff..." I groaned as I waited for the dizziness to pass.

Cardin: "Greeeeat, great, great," he said of the tone of someone who is only pretending to care about a word you just said before continuing to talk about the subject _he_ wants to discuss. "So, Jaune, I bet you're asking yourself, 'Why did my buddy Cardin ask me to collect six jars of tree sap when there's only five of us?'" I knew it.

I nodded, "That is one of the many questions I have asked myself today, yes." I also wondered 'why didn't I just tell Ozpin the truth?' 'What did I do to deserve this?' 'Why am I complying to your demands?' Most importantly, I just wonder, 'why me?'

"Well, come with me, and you'll find out," he orders as I just barely make it back onto my feet. *Gulp* what kind of twisted plan does he have now?

~x~

The five of us peeked our heads over a hill to see the rest of my team gathering sap for the assignment. Ren and Pyrrha were taking the assignment seriously as Nora balances a single jar in her hand while on one foot. Knowing what I know about her past, I still don't understand how she smiles so much or is so playful. Ren then asks her for an empty jar to collect more sap in as he passes her a full jar. Don't they only need three jars? I suppose it doesn't matter as Nora starts happily downing the sweet red liquid behind Ren's back. She had this grin covered in red sap that reminded me of something out of a comic book while she giggled. Ren's eyes narrowed slightly in annoyance at having his jar emptied again. He's always had to function as the responsible party when Nora's low impulse control got the better of her, but they both protect each other at any given moment. Pyrrha looked at peace with the world with a tranquil yet focused countenance on her face. The way the scarlet leaves seem to match her hair makes her look even more gorgeous than she already is. I don't know why, but she makes me think of the very personification of fall.

I have a bad feeling about this. "Cardin, wh-what's going on?" I ask.

"Payback," he responds as he glares at my team. Payback?! What did any of them ever do to you? Oh, no! Pyrrha!

"Pyrrha...?" I worry as I watch her collect more sap from a tree. "Wh-what are you-?"

"That's the girl. Red-haired know-it-all, thinks she's so smart," well she is smarter than you, and an overall better human being than you are. "Alright, boys..." Uh oh! He pulls out the cardboard box with a "W" written on it in crayon. That is the box full of Rapier Wasps I collected last night! "Last night, old Jaune here managed to round up an entire box of Rapier Wasps, and now, we're gonna put him to work." NO! Mohawk crony grabs me by the shoulder in their barbaric form of encouragement.

"Now, according to one of the essays you wrote for me last week, these nasty things loooove sweets." So he is literate. Why couldn't he be a bumbling idiot? Why can't he just not look at the work? Pyrrha has been nothing but kind to me, and I don't want any part in whatever is going to happen. "I'm thinking it's time we teach her a thing or two."

As they get up, Cardin yanks me upright before jamming the extra jar of sap into my hands. "And you're gonna do it," he instructs.

"Do what?" I say confusedly. There is no way he is this cruel! This is insane! Who on earth orchestrates an attack like this?

"Hit her with the sap!" Cardin yells angrily as he leans in closer, his cronies behind us laughing in sadistic pleasure. "Either that, or I'll have a chat with Goodwitch, and you'll be on the first airship out of Beacon," he blackmails.

I got to do this, or I'll get kicked out. The jar shakes in my hand. However, if I do this, I will let my team down. Pyrrha looks so happy down there, and what will this do to Ren's or Nora's trust in me if I betray any of them like this. Not a single one of them will ever trust me or anyone ever again, and it will be my fault. Pyrrha already looks so lonely whenever I see her, even if she is in the midst of a sea of people. Ruby told me I have to put my team first. I may be ruining my dream of becoming a huntsman, but to protect them all, it is worth it.

"No," I state.

"What did you say?" Cardin asks incredulously.

"I said... NO!" I yell as I snap and throw the jar at Cardin in anger! No one messes with my team! I will die before I let the likes of Cardin Winchester touch one hait on any of their heads.

Cardin looks less than pleased when he sees that not only did someone stand up to him, but also he had sap on his breastplate."Oh, you've done it now..." He says as his teammates grab me violently.

To be continued.


	12. Forever Fall part 2

I know there was a bit of a wait, but it's done now. I had an idea for a separate fic that would not shut up until it was started. I worked on and published the first two chapters of What Can't Be Recovered.

Anyway, Jaune mentioned at some point something about watching those he cares about fight while he was stuck in a tree; I didn't pay it much mind the first time I saw the series. After rewatching the series through a few weeks ago, I think there is more to that story, along with quite a few other things I didn't pay much attention to the first time I saw it. Next chapter is back to Nora. Everyone has until Monday morning to vote on whether or not Nora knows Sun. The poll is on my profile. Please vote.

Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY.

chapter 11

Jaune's POV

Before I know it, my body collided into the ground hard before Cardin pulled me up by my own hoodie. Pain explodes in my cheek as his fist slams into it with the force of a freight train. The funny thing is that I'm terrified, but I have never felt more courageous in my life than I feel at this moment. I can literally feel the bruises

"You know that wasn't very smart, Jauney boy," Cardin smirked as he yanked me up again. "I'm gonna make sure they send you back to mommy in teeny tiny pieces." His cronies just seemed to be getting a kick out of this, like a pay per view fight. It's like my suffering brings them entertainment and they'd laugh and cheer if I was flogged in front of them.

Images of Pyrrha smiling danced through my head. Nora's eyes lighting up at the sight of pancakes. Ren after his trap succeeds in capturing the elusive pancake stealing Valkyrie who was inside of a small cage literally drinking the syrup from the bottle. That was in interesting sight to come home to. "I don't care what you do to me..." I tell him resolutely, "but you are not messing with my team."

My words seem to catch him off guard for a moment before he quickly tries to cover it up with words. "What? You think talk like that makes you tough? You think you're a big strong man now?" His fist prepared another hit, and I was too weak to do anything to protect myself. Still, Pyrrha has only ever been kind to me; I will not let a monster like Cardin touch her, even if it costs me everything, I have to put my team first, even if it costs me a trip to the hospital or expulsion from Beacon. Dangling limply from Cardin's grip, I close my eyes and wait for the blow to come. The blow never did, and suddenly I am dropped.

I look at my hands in disbelief. What happened? I see a shimmer of light around them... my aura? Was that what protected me?

Suddenly, I was interrupted by a swift kick to the back. "Let's see how much of a man you really are," he threatened with cronies 2 and 3 standing by his side. You gotta be kidding me. Suddenly, there was this loud growl, louder than Snow Angel when she and Ruby are arguing over something or another at two in the morning. Good news is that Team CDNL is no longer focused on me. Bad news is that there is a huge, terrifying Ursa Major with several spear-like spikes just feet away from us that wants to eat us for lunch!

Sniff-sniff the creature scents the air as we stood frozen in shock. Luckily, he seems drawn to the sap on Cardin's breastplate. Next thing you know, it's on all fours growling and roaring. Cronies 2 and 3 run for their lives and abandon us to be _mauled to death by an Ursa Major!_ "That's a big Ursa!" one of them cried as he ran. No Duh! It's an Ursa Major! Do you guys not pay attention in Professor Port's- never mind. Don't answer that. I already know you don't.

I cowered in fear- in manly fear, there was no screaming here- as the Ursa swiped at Cardin, only to realize the Grimm couldn't care less about me as it followed Cardin, who was crab-crawling away. He pulled out his ugly mace thing, but the Grimm effortlessly knocks it out of his hand and to my feet. As I watch this, I feel conflicted. This could be my chance to be rid of Cardin. I won't ever have to worry about him talking to Glynda or Ozpin about what I did. I won't have to worry about him hurting me again. At the same time, this isn't what I'm supposed to do in this situation. I think of the legacy my family bestowed upon me and how I wanted so badly to follow it. This course of action would bring shame upon the Arc name. Also, regardless of whether I will agree with this statement later or not, Cardin is a person. I can't let this Grimm make a snack out of him.

Cardin somehow gets up to run for his life, yet despite my resolve, I am frozen here. The beast jumps in front of Cardin and once again knocks him down. Just as the Ursa was about to land another disemboweling blow, I find the courage to step in. Using Crocea Mors, my great, great grandfather's shield that has survived and served my family well all of these years, I defend another what-is- _supposed_ -to-be-comrade with the strength and valor of my family, even if I die in this battle- which is more than likely. It's a lot of pressure, both literally from the Ursa and metaphorically. However, I've been waiting for the moment I've had this kind of courage my entire life, ever since I was little and my grandfather would tell me stories of his grandfather, ever since I was eleven and hid in the tree terrified watching my sisters fight off a pack of Beowulves. I'm _not_ going to be a coward today! For Pyrrha, who had faith in me! For Nora and Ren, who deserve a leader who can stand up for them!

I slipped Crocea Mors from under its paw, causing a balance upset before quickly slicing it with my sword. It lost balance and nearly fell back. That just made it angrier. It tried to gut me with its claws, but I duck and roll. Then, it tries to smash me before I jump. Unfortunately, that left me open to the other paw that knocked me back several yards. This should hurt, but the adrenaline is keeping the pain at bay. I'm up again immediately. I still can't believe I'm protecting Cardin, but that is not what I need to focus on right now. I dash towards the thing, jumping and about to slash off a limb, but it swats me away like a fly. After landing, I see that my aura is in the red, crap! I know Glynda said to switch to a more defensive strategy, but I can't right now. I charge towards it prepared to attack, not really paying attention to defense. It jumps and prepares to swipe at me again. Even if this is my last stand, I will not let my teammates have a coward for a leader or let the Arc family legacy down. Then, I felt it. It was as if this invisible force moved my shield into just the right position to defend myself. It wasn't me who did that. I don't know what happened, but I think I owe someone my life. I take advantage of this protection and use my sword to cut the head off of the beast.

I-I can't believe I did that. I defeated an Ursa Major by myself, okay with a little help from whoever moved my shield, but I was able to do this. Maybe I can be a successful huntsman. I sheath my sword and extend a hand to help Cardin up.

"Holy crap, Jaune!" Cardin exclaims in disbelief, though I wouldn't believe it either.

I gotta take advantage of this moment. "Don't ever mess with my team - my friends - ever again," I threatened, looking him dead in the eye. No way I am ever going to let him hurt Pyrrha, or Ren, or Nora ever again. "Got it?"

Cardin blinked nervously but remained wordless as I walked away.

~X~

The fractured moon actually looks beautiful tonight as I stand atop the dormatory where Pyrrha offered to train me what feels like forever ago. I should have taken her up on it, but my stupid pride got in the way.

"No Cardin tonight?" Pyrrha's voice comes out of nowhere before I see her striding to the spot right next to mine. She looks like a goddess in the night. I really don't deserve her friendship. "I thought you two were best buds?" Ugh! Hopefully, he got the message and will stay out of my hair for a long, long time. I still can't believe I let myself get under his thumb enough for him to almost use me against my own team.

"Pyrrha... I'm sorry. I was a jerk! You were only trying to be nice, and... I had all this stupid macho stuff in my head-" All those years of being in the shadows of my sisters, I wanted to prove that I'm a man and could _do this_ without any help, especially from a woman. My father was so proud at first to have a son, but that pride quickly turned to shame when I proved to be weaker than my sisters. I just wanted to prove that I was strong, but screwed everything up and hurt my friend in the process.

I was interrupted from my babbling apology by her voice, "Jaune! It's okay! Your team really misses their leader, you know." She reminds me before walking to the door. "You should come down! Ren made pancakes! No syrup, though - you can thank Nora for that!" Yeah, and chances are I can thank her for there being no pancakes when we get there as well. She truly has an addiction. It will be good to tell him that I no longer have anything to do with Cardin, so I can be allowed back into my dorm again.

"Wait!" I call out before she can leave. She turns around. "I know I don't deserve it after all that happened, but," I stumble on myself for words. Please, let me do this right. "would you still be willing to help me to help me become a better fighter?" I ask, terrified of what her response will be.

She turns away for a moment and I'm terrified her answer is no, but then she calmly walks towards me and just pushes me like a bigger kid on the playground. There is no real malice in it. After so long of being under Cardin's thumb, I would recognize if she was doing it in malice.

"Hey!" I instinctively whine.

With her hands on her hips, she informs me with her evaluation of my 'stance.' "Your stance is all wrong. You need to be wider and lower to the ground." I didn't even know she wanted to start at this very moment. She offers me her hand, which I accept. "Let's try that again." She instructs as I try to take her advice.

My name is Jaune Arc, and this is the first day I _truly_ feel like the leader of Team JNPR.


	13. Spy gone awry

Sorry for the wait. It's been a weird week, and I am a little more than halfway convinced I should check myself into a mental institution. I had work, prep for school, and other things to take care of. Plus, you know, I am super distracta- Oh what's that? Shiny! Oh, I laughed hysterically at the end of RWBY Chibi 15. Not only is that something I might do, but there was a joke a few years ago where I was a mom in a play and went a little off script and wanted to give the person playing my son (who also happens to be the Ren to my Nora) a kitten, but totally forgot the air holes. I still kinda wish that made it into the final production.

Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY.

Chapter 12

YAY! It's almost time for the Vytal Festival! "There should be new students arriving now, more competition to crush! Ooooh! Maybe someone who can give me a challenge in the gym?! Come on, Ren! Let's go," I cheer as I yank Ren out of bed. Ren on the other hand was a bit more resistant than usual. "Come on! The other students are arriving here for the Vytal Festival, and this is the perfect opportunity to practice our ninja skills! We can totally scope them out. I bet their weapons are cool. Maybe we can find one with a _reaally_ hot accent! Maybe there is one with a pet sloth!" I give Ren my best pouty face, "Please come with me? Jaune and Pyrrha are out training, and I want a friend with me."

"Nora, give me just a little more sleep. I promise I will meet you in a few hours with dinner," Ren smiled sleepily and promised. He then proceeded to burrow back into his blanket. I forgot he stayed up for the past two days straight studying and preparing for the exams today. I better let him sleep today.

I grinned a grin bright enough to outshine the sun as I skip out the door. Yes! Ren is going to make lunch for me. We may not see each other in the way many people see us, but there is a reason why it isn't uncommon assumption.

~x~

The air is a bit funky smelling, but it ain't that bad, and there is a cool breeze that feels refreshing. The sun is still up and it just embraces my skin to the point where I want to dance in joy. Oh! Oh! Oh! I totally need to go shopping for the dance that takes place next month. Maybe one of the shops will have something totally cute on sale? Something pink and flowing and dancy. Oh! I need to get the others to practice a super cool dance with me!

A large airship lands on the strip. It looks so awesome, like something men could only dream of at one point in history. It looked so sleek and shiny! It was this enormous thing with four wings that seemed to float gracefully across the sky. I may or may not have "borrowed" a roster detailing who is to be coming to Beacon from Mistral. Among them was **H** unter Velos, **N** ychta Velos, Calypso **T** halassa, and **R** oz Cytheria (Team HNTR), also a team of **C** inder Fall, **M** ercury Black, Emerald **S** ustrai, and **N** eo Politan (Team CMSN). That's just to name a few.

I pulled out my handy-dandy finger binoculars as I spied a young woman with sea-glass colored hair that came down to her waist in waves. She her eyes were like the oceans in Vacuo in the midst of a storm. On her legs were these armored greaves that were sea green in color. She wore this beautiful, translucent teal high-low dress that had no business on a battlefield that ended above her knees in the front and her ankles in the back. She wore this silver breastplate with intricate designs depicting a small island lost in the midst of the sea. She looked kind of nervous to be here, but her nervousness faded from her eyes when she looked behind her to her teammates.

Next to her was a young man with messy, cropped hair so golden it could outshine the sun. His tan face was finely chiseled and not one blemish was to be seen on his skin. His eyes were this molten gold color that looked absolutely breathtaking. He was wearing just enough gold armor to cover his chest and rib cage, but his abdomen was exposed leaving his six pack visible for all to see. For whom was he trying to show off? He wore dark blue denim jean shorts that were cut off and slightly frayed at the knees and leather sandals that were laced halfway up his toned calves. On his back was an expensive looking leather quiver an image of a hunter with a bow and arrow engraved on it, and the quiver was filled with golden arrows. We get it. You use a bow and arrow, but why gold? More than likely the arena will select a forest or jungle environment, so green would be better. Or black would more stealthy and less gaudy. Heck, if he wanted a color that just looks amazing, choose pink! Looking like a giant trophy isn't going to help you win here.

Thankfully, his partner was significantly more subtle. She had the same chiseled features and a matching quiver, but that is where the similarities ended. She appears to have bobbed silver hair, midnight blue eyes, and skin as pale as the moon, but quickly pulls up an ebony colored hooded cloak similar to Ruby's in an effort to hide her face. Under her cloak, she wore a black corset with highlights of silver that if I didn't know better, I'd swear is modeled after Pyrrha's. She also wore a matching skirt that went halfway down her thigh that had been just armored enough to protect her form an attack, but not overly so as to limit mobility. She also wore a set of silver greaves that had this detailed etching of a wolf howling at the moon. What the hell? Is this some kind of cult that secretly worships Pyrrha? What if the practice weird rituals? What are we gonna do when they start looking for humans to sacrifice? What are we gonna do when they steal Pyrrha's clothes

Luckily, the last character didn't seem that interested in being a Pyrrha copy cat. I mean okay, she had red hair, but hers was a shade lighter and seemed to gleam in the sunlight as it cascaded to her waist. She had eyes as deep and blue as the sea. The porcelain skin on her cheeks was dusted with ballet slipper pink blush and cherry frost colored lipstick that matched her hair. She wore a translucent primrose high-low dress similar to her teammate's only with a dip in the neckline that showed just a little more of her bust than most students, but absolutely no armor. The hell? are you trying to get yourself killed in a battle? I just want to slap her in the face with a combat skirt. Her fingers fumbled with a dagger sheathed on her white leather belt.

Suddenly, there was a blur, and golden haired one was knocked down by two detectives in white dress shirts, black pants, and black suspenders. The girls around him break into laughter. I look to see what the detectives are chasing, and OH MY GOSH! Is that Sun?! I haven't seen him in years! He's grown up so much in the past... almost a decade? Golden boy looked ticked and was pulling out his bow and arrow. NOBODY hurts Captain Nora's crew!

I jump down from my observation point and tackle goldie. "NO!" I shout as I wrap my limbs around him to make sure he doesn't grab his bow and hurt Sun. He tried to wriggle and squirm his way out of it, but I held tight. I watch Sun make his getaway. The detectives were too busy trying to break up the commotion I was causing.

Once they pull me off of goldie, they ask "Hunter Velos" if he would like to press charges for my "assault." They just completely ignored the fact that he attempted to fire an arrow at Sun. Sure, Sun wasn't innocent, but he didn't deserve an arrow in his back.

"No, no," he said smoothly, but something about how he said it just felt wrong, "She's fine. She was just trying to prevent me from doing something impulsive. Now why don't you go off and find your silly, little Faunus. I'll briefly talk to her and make my way to our dorms." His voice reminded me of the caretakers. I don't like it.

The detectives waved us off, and he grabbed my wrists. Hard. "Go off to the dorms, guys. I'll meet up with you later," he instructed his teammates. The girl in the dark cape glared at him before they all acquiesced. After they were all gone, Hunter slammed my head against a building. Stars exploded across my vision and all the sounds of the world are momentarily drowned out by this shrill ringing sound. Before my aura could heal this, he repeated it again and again and again. "You worthless, little wretch! You think you can embarrass me like that? You think you can stop me from shooting a filthy, little criminal like that? Guess what? You're wrong! He shouted before dragging me towards an empty storage container. He removed the bowstring from his bow. "I'll fix this later, right now, you need to learn a lesson!" He tied my wrists together with the string. It felt more like a metal wire that had been through the forge. It cut my wrists when I tried to move, and it was scalding my skin! He kicked me in the head before tossing me into a storage container and locking me in the dark.

"No," I whimper to myself. All I could see was darkness. I feel bile rising in my throat and can't tell if that is from a hit to the head or from the panic. I don't like dark, closed in spaces. I try to get onto my feet, but the dizziness forces me onto my back. My wrists feel like they are on fire, and I can now feel the string burning my back. If this is the string, I would hate to see the arrow that could have hit Sun. A few tears fall down my cheeks. How is Ren supposed to find me? What if he looks for me and doesn't find me until it's too late? What if that guy looks for Sun and hurts him? My thoughts are in a frenzy, and all I can do is sit here in the dark.


	14. The search

Chapter 13

Ren's POV

I finally reach the rendezvous point in downtown Vale where I agreed to meet Nora. I normally would have accompanied her on excursions like this, but I had not slept in three nights as a result of studying for exams. Odd. I don't see her. I look around the area around the warehouse, checking each bush and other unusual hiding spots. You never knew where she could be hiding! Maybe she followed them somewhere and forgot about the dinner? If I call her, she could be caught. I'll give her half an hour before I call her, but in the meantime, I will search the surrounding streets.

I walk past a Dust shop before I see a red coat and familiar blue hair. "Neptune!" I call out, startling him. Not that I blame him. Most people don't believe I am capable of yelling.

Neptune turns in my direction. He is wearing a stylish red jacket with upturned collar on top of a white dress shirt and black tie. He also is donning a pair of yellow goggles on his head and black fingerless gloves on his hands. His skin had become a shade tanner since last we met, and he has grown nearly three feet over the last decade. "Ren!" he shouted once he recognized me. "Have you seen Sun? It's a long story, but he decided to hitch a ride back to Vacuo before heading to Vale and then talked us into stowing away on a ship to Vale. When we were in danger of being caught, our _brilliant_ leader decided to distract the crew while we escaped."

Sounds like he copied Nora's plan from three weeks before we were caught and separated. Sun did look up to her as his older sister. Oh no! "No, but I can't find Nora either. We have to find them before they find a way to terrorize half of Vale, or worse: get themselves expelled."

Neptune's tanned face seemed to age ten years at the thought of Sun getting expelled. He probably put endless hours and a large amount of effort into making sure Sun was studying and keeping his antics to a level that wouldn't result in an expulsion first week. "We need to find them _fast!_ Let me attempt to call Sun one more time." Neptune quickly typed Sun's number into his Scroll to be met by two shrill rings before a voice greeted him.

"Yo, Neptune!" Sun's voice started.

"Where are you? How long does it take to lose a couple of sailors?" Neptune asked. His voice portrayed a calm demeanor, but I could sense the worry and mild irritation in my old friend.

"-It's most likely a _long_ story, but I can't answer my Scroll right now. Just leave me a message, and I'll get back to you when I can, Bro," Sun Wukong's voice continues on what was apparently a recording.

Needless to say, Neptune looked less than pleased. "I am surrounded by children," he muttered under his breath before facepalming. "Give me the number to your scroll. I'll check the downtown for any commotion. Scarlet is already checking by the docks. You check up town. If you find either of them, call me."

"Are you still- nevermind, we'll talk when we've found them. Just text Scarlet to keep an eye out for 'the queen of the pirates.'" Between Nora, Sun, and Scarlet, we always had our hands full in our four month stint as junior pirates in Vacuo. Nora had declared herself captain and "queen of the pirates." Sun was one of her more daring of crew mates and would help her "gather" as many materials as she needed. He was loud and brash and fearless, and we nicknamed him "the monkey king." Scarlet was a little shyer than the others, but he could be just as bad and impulsive as the other two. Although he was not as talkative, he was prone to prank other sailors along the wharf or look for "adventure." At night, he would tell these fantastical yet over-exaggerated fairy tales. we nicknamed him 'the boy who wouldn't grow up' because he would repeatedly use a setting where the people never aged a day and children with nowhere go made their home.

Pyrrha's POV

"Alright. That's enough for one night, Jaune," I conclude our training session. It's only been one semester, yet despite having no previous training, Jaune is improving in leaps and bounds. He may not be able to defeat some of the stronger students, but he is able to put up an impressive fight. By the beginning of next year, he may be able to beat me in a sparring match. He just needs to gain some confidence.

Jaune used his upper body strength to push himself off of the ground. "Y-yeah. Let's go before Ren sends Nora into search party mode. I don't think anyone wants to face a 'worried sick' Nora," he shudders as he probably remembers the lecture she gave us after the first time Ren sent her to find us. I highly doubt we could find ourselves torn to pieces by Krakens in the Sea of Vacuo in the course of two hours, yet she insists otherwise. She threatened to microchip us next time we were out too late.

As we gather our weapons to head down stairs to our dorm, I see a few someones who aren't supposed to be here. The Velos twins and Roz Cytheria were far from my favorite people. When we were young, they were my "CDNL." They made my life hell by constantly making fun of me and making me feel as though I can't do anything right when I was young. Roz and Nychta would grab my arms and hold me down while Hunter would punch and kick me while calling me a "waste of space." I would sometimes open my book bag to find notes that basically called me a weirdo and a failure before telling me to die. I made it my life's goal to prove them wrong by training until I was better than my peers in as many areas as I could be. Only, when I accomplished this, I still found myself as the lonely girl on top of the mountain.

I grab Jaune and pull him down the stairs more aggressively than I meant to. The last thing I want is for them to be anywhere near the one good thing in my life.

Nora's POV

The acrid stench of my own vomit caused my eyes to water as I lie on the cold, metal floor of the storage container. I hate dark, closed in spaces like this before, and this is making that dislike intensify. What if Ren can't find me? What if I die in here? Suddenly, I felt like vomiting again and spent five minutes dry heaving on the floor, but nothing was coming out. About a three months before we left, the care takers handcuffed me, threw me in a closet, and "forgot" about me for three days. By the time Ren found me and set me free, I had to be hospitalized due to extreme dehydration. At that point, Ren and I decided that we would leave the first chance we got and never look back.

I started to quietly sob. I always thought I would die fighting a Grimm! This can't be the end of Nora Valkyrie! I still have to become a famous pirate!

Ren's POV

Where is she!? She normally would be blowing up my Scroll with incessant texts by now! "NORA?!" My voice called out into the dark. I dash through another street to see an absence of five foot tall gingers running amok and causing wanton destruction, just a book store belonging to a Faunus named Tukson that has already been closed for the evening.

I pull out my Scroll and try to dial her number. There were three shrill beeps before someone picked up. H have never been more relieved in my life, "Nora," I greeted. My voice sounds calm like it normally does, but inside I am happy dancing because she is most likely safe if she is picking up. She probably just got a little distracted, but that's okay because she's o-

"Sorry, mate, but I just found her Scroll on the ground near the docks," a familiar voice apologized. Odd that he would use the word "mate" when referring to Ren. All of these years later, Scarlet David still aspires to be a pirate.

My heart crashes. It was Scarlet, not Nora. Then the thought occurs to me, if her Scroll is there, she has to be nearby! She _has_ to be! "I'll be there soon. Continue searching until I get there!" I command my former crewmate before running in the direction I believe the docks to be in.


	15. Lost and found

Sooo sorry for the late update. Between School, work, sickness, a touch of writer's block as to how I want this specific chapter to go, and (honestly) laziness/addiction to other people's fanfiction, I haven't really been keeping up with updating this story like I should.

Chapter 14

After 15 minutes of running through the streets of Vale, Ren finally found the docks that Scarlet had mentioned. "Nora!" He cried, desperate to find his best friend. She had to be somewhere around here. She just had to be, and Ren had to find her soon. He looked around for a ginger-haired girl with enough energy to power a kingdom for a week, both literally and metaphorically. She shouldn't be this hard to track down. All he could see were the docks overlooking the water and the shipping containers being loaded onto a large freighter. In his franticness, he literally ran into a male with scarlet colored hair that all collected and dipped in front of and obscured one of his emerald eyes. It looks like the boy had gone out of his way to create a look that portrayed more of a "bad boy" vibe than his shy persona. He had a visible red, geometric tattoo around his visible eye and three piercings in hid ear. He wore a white shirt with grey bandannas around his neck and his arm. Over his shoulder was draped a scarlet captain's coat that looked like it had been stolen off of the Terror of Vacuo, Captain Flint himself... Don't tell me! Ren did not have time for this!

"Scarlet, you find her yet?" He asked the redhead. He peered behind the aspiring pirate, only to find his friend absent.

The redhead shook his head solemnly. "No, I haven't. Maybe she decided to look inside the shipping containers and lost track of time?"

It felt as if a bucket of ice water had been dumped on Ren. Nora hated small, closed in spaces, and for good reason. What if she was trapped inside one? And they are starting to load them onto the ship! "I need you to somehow keep that ship at the docks. I don't care how you do it, just make sure they don't potentially leave with Nora on board," he commanded. "I'm going to check the containers on board to see if she's inside those."

"And the containers still on the ground?" Scarlet asked, knowing there were too many containers for Ren to check by himself.

"I'll call back up," Ren responded as he pulled his Scroll out of his pocket.

* * *

Pyrrha's POV

It's strange. Despite Nora's chaotic nature and boundless energy, she and Ren were not often out this late. Despite Nora's colorful nature and chaotic personality, She normally isn't one to stay out late at night without giving us a heads up. Normally, she would be counting how many times she could touch the ceiling while bouncing on the bed or waiting for Jaune and I to get back wearing a bathrobe she "borrowed" and wielding a rolling pin like a housewife out of a sitcom. The girl seemed to live for opportunities to drive most people crazy. Knowing what I do bout her past, it could partially be a craving for positive attention stemming from the abuse and neglect she received as a child. Ren merely is content to be at her side.

 _"Baby, it's time to make up your mind._  
 _I think that tonight is when our stars align!_  
 _Honey, it's time to lea-"_

I notice that my ringtone is going off and quickly pick up my Scroll. Unless Jaune was butt dialing me from under 10 ft away, it had to be either Ren or Nora. Holding the device a foot away from my ear in case of Nora, I bravely press the talk button.

"Pyrrha, how fast can you and Jaune get to the docks?" Ren's voice asked urgently. It must be an emergency based on the existence of that tone in his voice.

"Twenty minutes at most. Maybe 10 if Yang gives us a ride," I reply. What's going on at the docks that could rattle even Ren.

"Tell her it is an emergency. Tell her that if she gets you two here as soon as she possibly can, I will speak to my contacts outside of the kingdom about her search. Just please get here quickly," He pleaded. "I can't find Nora, and I sincerely believe something is seriously wrong!"

What could possibly have happened to Nora? She may not have had the greatest past, but now she has never made me question her ability to take down an opponent in a fight. For her to disappear like that must mean something is wrong. "I'm on it," I respond, grabbing Jaune.

* * *

Ten minutes later, Yang appears with Pyrrha riding the back of her bike and wearing a backpack. As the bike comes to a halt, Pyrrha descends off of it with the backpack. "I'm sorry I can't stay. I have my own teammate to search for. Byez," Yang salutes before zooming her way back to the city.

"Where's Jaune?" Ren asks upon noticing the absence of their blonde teammate. Pyrrha then proceeds to empty the backpack onto the ground, revealing an annoyed Jaune groaning from discomfort.

"Uhhh... Nevermind, my questions about the laws of physics can wait. We don't have time for that. An old friend is distracting the captain of the ship. I need you guys to help me check to see if she is trapped inside of a shipping container," Ren commanded.

The remaining two members of JNPR nodded before heading off in separate directions. Pyrrha opening about to shipping containers at a time with her semblance in one direction, Jaune opening them one by one in another, and ren opening the ones on the ship. Half an hour later, a girly scream filled the sky. The other two temporarily abandoned their positions to make their way over to Jaune's position. There, laying limply in a fetal position a mere six inches from a pool of vomit was Nora. She had a ugly blueish-purple boot-shaped bruise on her cheek. There was vomit on her torn lips. Her arms were covered in burns, blisters, and lacerations that looked as though they would grow infected if not treated, pronto. Overall, she did not look at all like the pancake crazy maniac they had come to love as a sister.

When Ren and Pyrrha saw this, Ren looked ready to break down then and there. Pyrrha looked furious when her eyed landed upon the bow string tied around Nora's tiny wrists. Jaune once again felt like a failure. He failed his teammates again, spectacularly this time. What makes it worse is that Nora didn't try to move as Jaune picked her off of the ground. Ren quickly rushed to him and removed Nora from his arms.

* * *

What seemed like hours later, Nora was laying in a hospital bed a few miles east of the docks. Ren had called Scarlet and Neptune to let them know that Nora had been found, and they promised to come see her as soon as Sun was found. A special Dust-infused knife had to be used to remove the bowstring, and she had been found to have a moderate concussion. When the doctors tried to wake her up, her above average strength knocked one into the nearest wall five feet away and left a descent sized crater. "I don't want to go into the timeout place!" she screamed before her mind was able to process where she was. As soon as she became more aware, she doubled over and puked into the bucket that Pyrrha just barely managed to correctly place in time.

"N-Nora, I am s-so s-s-s-sorr-rry!" Ren repented tearfully. He felt as though this was entirely his fault for leaving her to go on her mission alone. If he had gone with her, he could have protected her better. He promised himself when they left that he would protect her now, and he failed... miserably.

Nora just stared at Ren before slurring, "Ssssorry? Why? You din't do anythin' toooo me. Gimme a day er two, an' 'll be goooood as- Hey, look at the pretty butterflies!" Ren rolled his eyes. She gives Ren her best 1.21 gigawatt smile. She them proceeded to try to remove the bandages, only to find her hands in boxing mitts and chained to the bed. Annoyed and on too much medication to try to remove them by slipping her hands out, she then proceeded to try to bite the mitts off, only to induce enough nausea to cause her to need to wretch into the bucket again.

"Maybe you should lay down, Nora," Pyrrha suggested.

Nora quickly shook her head, only to regret this action as a wave of dizziness caused her to sway and nearly fall out of her hospital bed if not for Ren's reflexes. "'m fine!" she insisted. "I's jus a li'l dizziness, no diff'rent than if I started spinnin' 'round reallllly fast. I's not like I threw up yet! Speakin' of whish, if Sun is in tone, Maybe Neptune and Scarlet are too? Crap! I gotta find Sun and make sure that bully din't hurt him!" She tried to explain and get herself out of bed before Jaune interceded this time.

"Maybe you should wait until you can speak clearly again, Nora. Maybe Ran and I can find this Sun guy for you. Just stay in bed and rest," Jaune suggested before processing the rest of what Nora said. "What bully, Nora?" asked Jaune angrily. He knew it could not have been Team CDNL. Cardin may be a lot of things, but he was not suicidal enough to mess with Nora directly.

Nora scratched her head trying to remember his name. "It was the person I was spying on who was gonna shoot Sun. I know it begins with an H... Harlequin? No. That name is too awesome to use on a jerk like him. Heidelberg? Honolulu? Hooker?" At that last potential name, Jaune and Pyrrha broke into hysterical laughter and even Ren's lips quirked a bit. "Let's go with 'Hooker' for now. 'Hooker' wore too much gold and looked gaudy and stupid. Looking like a cheap piece of costume jewelry is not advantageous in in the tournament field!"

Pyrrha's eyes widened. "This 'hooker' wouldn't happen to be an archer, would he?" Pyrrha hoped it wasn't Hunter. Did the bully get off on victimizing young women in some way or another? Especially when Nora, despite how most see her, is still trying to put her self together after what the caretakers at St. Rouge did to her. As Nora nodded, Pyrrha felt an urge to avenge the girl in front of her. Bullying her, as much as it still haunts her to this day, was one thing. To give Nora a concussion and leave her tied up to suffer. What if something more serious had happened to her? Pyrrha quietly excused herself from the room.


End file.
